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For the second time in a day, the Energy Ministry announced new fuel prices Friday, again lowering the selling prices for gasoline, diesel and cooking gas. The price of 20 liters of 95-octane dropped by an additional LL6,400 this afternoon reaching LL369,200 and 98-octane gasoline dropped by LL6,600 to become LL381,800. Diesel fuel decreased by LL35,600 and now costs LL362,800. The price of a tank of cooking gas also fell, decreasing by LL30,100 to LL319,600.

The decline in fuel prices this afternoon was caused by the sudden rise of the lira against the US dollar on the parallel market, said George Brax, a spokesperson for the gas station owners' syndicate. He added that Banque du Liban kept the exchange rate at which it subsidizes 85 percent of fuel imports at LL24,600 to the dollar, but the exchange rate used to calculate the 15 percent of gasoline imports paid for in US dollars is now calculated at the new parallel market rate of LL28,336 instead of LL31,237.