Nearly 90 per cent of the region’s crude oil is now at risk as stalled peace talks and a naval stand-off raise the spectre of stagflation
4-MIN READ4-MIN ListenBiman MukherjiPublished: 6:09pm, 14 Apr 2026Washington’s naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz is threatening to tip Asia into its worst energy crisis in living memory, with peace talks on the Iran war stalled and no clear timeline for when oil flows might resume.The United States moved to seize control of the flashpoint waterway on Monday night, with US President Donald Trump framing the move as a way to force Iran to open the strait and accept a deal to end the war.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”.
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.
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.
