Lebanon central bank stops providing dollars for gasoline imports

Hezbollah flags flutter as a convoy of tanker trucks carrying Iranian fuel oil arrive at al-Ain village in northeastern Lebanon

Lebanon’s central bank said it has entirely ceased providing dollars for gasoline imports in a move that will likely lead to higher and more volatile prices as well as increased pressure on the local currency which has been steadily losing value.

 

Although the central bank had said last year it would stop providing dollars at heavily subsidised exchange rates due to dwindling foreign currency reserves, it continued to do so at a rate below market prices on its Sayrafa exchange platform.

But in recent weeks, it gradually reduced the amount of dollars it provided via Sayrafa, part of a wider plan to end subsidies for most goods amid a financial collapse that has entered its fourth year with no signs of easing.

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