Such has been the intensity of events in the Persian Gulf, and the relentlessness of the media coverage, that the Iran war can feel older than it is. In fact, some of the oil tankers that left the Middle East before the closure of theStrait of Hormuzhave yet to reach their destinations in Europe.
The real impact of radically reduced supplies, across the array of industries that rely on oil and the customers who depend on their products, has yet to be felt in Europe, leaving an eerie sense of consequences pending.
To the east of the gulf, where transit times to major Asian destinations are shorter and reliance on Middle Eastern oil is much greater, things are already looking very different. South, East and Southeast Asia have long suffered a severe energy deficit, owing to dense populations, high industrial demand for power and uncooperative geology when it comes to oil and gas production.
Around 84% of the oil passing through the Strait of Hormuz is destined for Asia, and economies in South and Southeast Asia in particular are starting to struggle. Relationships with the United States are meanwhile being stress-tested, most of all in South Korea andJapan.
In India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, where strategic reserves of oil are relatively modest, people are grappling with strict fuel conservation measures and even, in places, outright rationing.
India has also been hit by serious shortages of Qatari liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) used for cooking, interruptions to cargo and passenger flights that use Gulf airports and a downturn in remittances home by the nine million Indian migrant workers who live in the region – estimated to be worth around $50 billion per year to the Indian economy.
Workers’ remittances are vital, too, for Pakistan’s foreign currency reserves and the stability of the Pakistani rupee.
Both India and Pakistan are trying to secure more oil imports via the Red Sea port of Yanbu, in Saudi Arabia, but analysts worry that even this back-u
সূত্র: Asia Times
ক্যাটাগরি: অর্থনীতি ও ব্যবসা