Gas rises, fuel slips... and the school crisis threatens 100,000 children
Fuel prices in Lebanon edged slightly lower in the latest schedule, with the 95-octane canister falling to 2,837,000 liras from 2,844,000, and diesel to 2,726,000 liras from 2,756,000, while the 10-kg gas cylinder rose to 1,333,000 liras from 1,249,000. The official exchange rate held at 89,500 liras, the euro was nearly flat at 100,687 liras, and the gold ounce climbed to $4,140. On the living-conditions front, about 100,000 children are at risk of staying out of classrooms after 436 educational institutions were damaged, amid heated files over the budget, medicine prices and banking reform. Households are watching whether the international easing in energy markets will actually feed through to the price schedule in the coming weeks.
Prices and living costs: fuel slips, gas jumps
Petrol and diesel prices fell in the latest schedule: the 95-octane canister to 2,837,000 liras from 2,844,000, 98-octane to 2,854,000 liras from 2,862,000, and diesel to 2,726,000 liras from 2,756,000. By contrast, the 10-kg gas cylinder rose to 1,333,000 liras from 1,249,000 — an increase of 84,000 liras, a direct cost for cooking and heating. The union of bakeries and ovens stressed its commitment to enforcing the law and organising the workers and work-permit file, announcing a week of meetings with official bodies over fines and arrears to ensure bread production continues. The daily school lunch box, according to media reports, also remains a growing expense weighing on families week after week.
The lira and the banks: a presidential objection to the banking reform bill
The official exchange rate stayed at 89,500 liras, while the euro stood at 100,687 liras against 100,699 previously — broadly stable. MP Jihad al-Samad, head of the National Defence, Interior and Municipalities Committee, criticised the President's objection to an article in the banking reform bill, calling it an "unprecedented step" not seen since the Taif Agreement, and noting the bill had been referred to Parliament, which voted in favour of the article as sent by the government. In another banking file, reports spoke of an undeclared dispute between a presidential reference and the central bank governor over the chairmanship of Bank Intra's board, without naming those involved.
Services: damaged schools, an alternative crossing in the south, and Tripoli's waste
According to a report in the Spanish newspaper El País, about 100,000 children risk remaining out of classrooms unless war-damaged schools are rehabilitated; the Education Ministry counts 436 educational institutions that were shelled — 40 percent of those assessed — while about half of public schools elsewhere in the country became shelters after 1.2 million people were displaced. In the south, the Ministry of Public Works and Transport, coordinating with the Litani River Authority, began installing a water ferry at Tayrfelsiyeh as an alternative crossing to the destroyed bridge, to ease the movement of people and agricultural produce between Sidon, Zahrani and the Tyre district. In the north, MP Ashraf Rifi renewed calls for a radical government solution to Tripoli's waste crisis after the decision to reopen the landfill, warning of health and environmental risks.
Public finances: criticism of the 2027 budget and cuts to health and housing allocations
MP Adeeb Abdel Massih criticised the 2027 budget, likening it to fireworks — loud noise and bright colours whose cost is paid out of citizens' pockets, leaving them with an "empty pocket". MP Bilal Abdullah criticised the reduction of allocations for the Health Ministry and the Public Housing Corporation in the draft budget, saying health and medicine coverage is "the mother of crises" and that the rent problem needs a housing policy built on soft loans. On medicines, MP Jamil al-Sayyed demanded an immediate investigation by oversight bodies and the judiciary into a cancer drug price gap, saying a tender to buy 2,500 boxes of a Chinese drug won at $697 per box as an alternative to a drug sold at $2,075 before its company cut the price to $650. Meanwhile, the general assembly of the Tripoli Chamber unanimously approved the 2025 accounts and the 2026 budget.
What to expect: easing in fuel prices and preparations to reopen markets
The head of the fuel station owners' syndicate, George Braks, said US President Donald Trump's retreat from a diesel export ban, and the G7 agreement to release 100 million barrels of diesel and crude from strategic reserves via the International Energy Agency over four months, will ease pressure on international demand and push oil and fuel prices lower, feeding through to the diesel price schedule. On agriculture, Agriculture Minister Nizar Hani welcomed the prospect of Jordanian markets reopening to Lebanese products, chiefly grapes, from early November. Next week remains a week of meetings for the bakeries' union with official bodies to address fines, arrears and the workers' file, in order to keep bread production going.
What to watch
- The next fuel price schedule: will the international easing reach diesel and petrol prices?
- The fate of the banking reform bill's article after the presidential objection, and what it may mean for depositors and the banking sector.
- The rehabilitation of damaged schools and the fate of the school year for about 100,000 children.
- The bakeries' union meetings with official bodies over fines, the workers' file and continuity of bread production.