An escalation initiated by the banks, translated through a two-day warning closure, amid fears that it would turn into an open strike, in protest of what the Association of Banks refers to as arbitrary judiciary, in reference to a series of decisions that recently affected several banks.
Antoine Farah, an economist, joined us to shed more light on this topic.

Today, the price of gasoline 95 and 98 octane rose again by 14,000 LBP, diesel oil by 30,000 LBP, and gas by 8,000 LBP. Sources indicated that the rise in global oil prices and the rise in the dollar exchange rate in the Lebanese markets led to a rise in fuel prices.

In a related vein, fuel tanker owners staged a sit-in protest this morning at President Lahoud’s highway in both directions, specifically in front of the Energy Ministry, against the decision to settle the status of fuel tankers signed by the Ministers of Energy, Water, Economy, and Trade based on the proposal of the Director Generals of Oil and Economy for an extension.

In turn, the head of the Syndicate of Tankers and Fuel Transport Contractors in Lebanon, Ibrahim Al-Saraini, told Sawt Beirut International: We are not strike enthusiasts, and our opinion has not been taken of the decision related to settling the conditions of fuel tankers, and the Ministry of Economy is the one who gives the certificate of measure and every violator we do not cover, and the owner of the tank is not able to repair his tank.