{"id":1298556,"date":"2026-05-11T10:54:45","date_gmt":"2026-05-11T16:54:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.reporterherald.com\/?p=1298556&preview=true&preview_id=1298556"},"modified":"2026-05-11T11:04:00","modified_gmt":"2026-05-11T17:04:00","slug":"asia-energy-buffer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.reporterherald.com\/2026\/05\/11\/asia-energy-buffer\/","title":{"rendered":"Asia braces for a second wave of energy shocks from the Iran war"},"content":{"rendered":"

By ANTON L. DELGADO and ANIRUDDHA GHOSAL<\/strong><\/p>\n

BANGKOK (AP) \u2014 Asia\u2019s first defenses against energy shocks<\/a> from the Iran war are running short and a more consequential second wave of impacts is beginning to hit.<\/p>\n

When the war started, governments scrambled<\/a> to adapt to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical artery for energy flowing to Asia. They made difficult trade-offs<\/a>: saving power at the risk of slowing businesses, prioritizing gas for households at the risk of fertilizer production and dipping into energy stockpiles for temporary relief.<\/p>\n

But these measures were based on the war lasting only a short time, allowing a quick resumption of energy flows. That has not happened.<\/p>\n

With no clear end in sight, the fuel crisis is now rippling across economies<\/a>. Airfare costs, shipping rates and utility bills are climbing, jeopardizing economic growth. About 8.8 million people are in danger of being pushed into poverty and the conflict may cause $299 billion in economic losses to the Asia-Pacific region, according to the United Nations Development Program.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe countries with the least resources to respond, or the consumers who can least afford to pay, are the ones who feel everything first,\u201d said Samantha Gross of the U.S.-based think tank Brookings Institution.<\/p>\n

Asian governments planned their budgets assuming the price of oil would average around $70 a barrel. Subsidies helped to keep fuel prices stable. But the war pushed the price of Brent crude to as high as about $120 a barrel.<\/p>\n

Governments now face a stark choice between maintaining those costly subsidies, straining public finances, or cutting them to pass higher costs on to consumers, risking a public backlash, said Ahmad Rafdi Endut, a Kuala Lumpur-based independent energy analyst.<\/p>\n