On January 4th, the first pricing schedule for the new year was issued, recording 351,400 Lebanese Lira for a 95-octane gasoline canister. The price remained stable until early March, when the Ukrainian war began and global oil prices surged, causing a leap to 425,000 Lira on March 8th. The increase in gasoline prices continued throughout March and April, reaching a new high of 507,000 Lira per canister on May 10th, as reported by the Ministry of Energy.
Notably, throughout May, gasoline prices experienced continuous and substantial increases due to the skyrocketing dollar exchange rate, before dropping slightly overnight from Friday to Saturday. On May 26th, the price approached 600,000 Lira, hitting 597,000 Lira.
This quick overview of gasoline prices since the beginning of 2022 shows an increase of 245,600 Lebanese Lira over just five months, reflecting a significant rise beyond the capacity of the Lebanese people to endure. It is important to mention that gasoline prices are not expected to decrease, even with a drop in the dollar exchange rate, as they are calculated based on the Sayrafa platform's prices, thus maintaining the upward trend.
