Asia faces oil shock as US-Iran war chokes Strait of Hormuz

Oil prices surged by the most in four years on Monday as the killing of Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei amid a widening conflict between the United States, Israel and Iran brought tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz to a near standstill. Freight costs climbed sharply alongside crude, as traders swiftly priced in the war, which analysts say will have far-reaching consequences for Asia’s heavily import-dependent economies. Benchmark Brent crude jumped 13 per cent to a high...

By Biman Mukherji

Shares of aviation firms, tour operators dive amid West Asia crisis

The stock of InterGlobe Aviation tanked 7.50%, while SpiceJet declined by 7.27% on the BSE. Shares of Yatra Online tumbled 11.14%, Easy Trip Planners slumped 9.39%, TBO TEK dived 8.19% and Thomas Cook dropped 5.40%

Middle East tensions raise supply stakes for Korea’s energy-heavy economy

South Korea has been thrust into crisis mode as coordinated US and Israeli strikes on Iran, which led to the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, have made the Strait of Hormuz a volatile flashpoint, sending oil prices higher and rattling industries dependent on the waterway. For an economy that imports roughly 70 percent of its crude oil and 20 percent of its natural gas from the Middle East, the strait is a commercial lifeline underpinning the operations of Korea’s oil refiners, shi

By The Korea Herald