Iran responded by threatening all ports in the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, with the country’s military and Revolutionary Guards issuing a statement saying “no ports in the region will be safe”.
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A prolonged closure will not merely raise energy bills but ripple through industries across the Asia-Pacific, according to experts.
“APAC’s exposure is concentrated in crude oil and refined petroleum products, feeding directly into manufacturing input costs, transport and trade financing,” risk management consultancy Fitch Solutions warned in a research note on Monday.
Supply crunch
Supplies are already tightening fast. The conflict has removed 10 million barrels per day of crude from the market compared to January, according to ANZ Bank, with benchmark Brent crude hovering around US$100 per barrel as of Tuesday.