Drivers refuel vehicles and motorcycles at a petrol station in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on March 9.
Photographer: Fabeha Monir/BloombergIran War Catapults Asia to the Frontline of a Global Energy Crisis
Consumers worldwide face higher prices amid fears the conflict will reignite inflation.
From metal furnaces in western India to rice paddies in Southeast Asia, billions of people are dealing with gas outages, drawing up “crisis menus” and preparing for fuel rationing at the pump. As the war in the Persian Gulf enters its third week, Asia is caught in an energy emergency — a regional crunch that is rapidly turning into a global one as disruption widens and prices spike.
In Coimbatore, a city in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, it should have been a weekend of celebration. March 15 is an auspicious date in the Hindu calendar, and the city’s wedding venues were booked out months in advance for much-anticipated parties on Sunday. Instead, staff at the Sree Annapoorna restaurant chain, which owns 15 banquet halls across town, spent last week calling families to warn them that gas supplies were tight and menus would have to be cut back.