Asia’s Fuel Crunch Forces Four-Day Weeks, School Closures

Asian governments are restricting fuel use and instructing citizens to avoid panic-buying, in a stark demonstration of the region’s vulnerability to energy imports and disruptions in supply.

Vietnam reduced import tariffs on some petroleum products and said oil not yet committed for export must be sold to domestic refineries, while the country’s civil aviation authority warned that jet fuel shortages could emerge from early April. In Thailand, the government instructed agencies to adopt work-from-home arrangements and suspended non-essential overseas travel. The Philippines — which imports nearly all of its oil — has already begun a temporary four-day week for government offices, where elevator use has been limited and air-conditioning set to a minimum 24C (75F).