Lebanon’s central bank ends subsidies for fuel imports

BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanon’s central bank says it will provide a line of credit for fuel importers at market price, ending subsidies on the scarce resource. The move announced Wednesday will likely send prices soaring in the country in the throes of an economic crisis. The decision comes amid an unfolding energy crisis that has plunged the country into hours of darkness, threatened hospitals and businesses with shutdown, and sparked deadly violence among consumers and motorists looking for fuel and diesel. The price of a gallon of fuel has increased by more than 220% in the last year, triggering panic and a thriving black market.