Cars lined up for fuel across Lebanon Tuesday evening, as drivers rushed to fill their tanks ahead of a strike by gas station owners set for Wednesday. Proprietors of gas stations had announced they would hold a “pre-emptive strike” to protest being forced to pay high rates from high-street currency exchanges.
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While Lebanese drivers pay for their fuel in Lebanese pounds, suppliers purchase it in U.S. dollars, according to prices set by the Energy Ministry.
However, with banks reluctant to issue dollars, owing to the country’s precarious financial situation, gas station owners have resorted to using small currency-exchange shops to change their pounds into dollars. This often means they are charged higher than the official fixed rate of 1,507.5 to the dollar, in some cases reaching 1,525 or 1,550.
One gas station owner told local TV channel Al Jadeed that fuel providers had contacted the relevant ministers “multiple times” but had not received a “decisive response.”
“This is a pre-emptive strike,” he added, warning that gas station owners might escalate their protest if appropriate action were not taken by the government.
Maroun Chammas, the vice chairman of MEDCO petroleum, told Bloomberg last week: “If we don’t find dollars, we won’t be able to import products and there will be a shortage.”
He said the problem had grown worse over the last few months.
In May, a Customs strike was the cause of long queues at gas stations, as staff protested austerity measures in the draft 2019 budget.
