Across Asia, fuel prices have surged and traders are struggling to secure alternative supplies as the escalating Iran war curtails shipments from key Middle Eastern suppliers.
The US and Israeli ?air strikes on Iran, and retaliatory strikes by Tehran across the Middle East, have disrupted fuel shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, a key energy route, and have sent energy costs soaring.
From panic-buying to rationing, here's how the fuel situation is unfolding across Asia.
Bangladesh
Bangladesh on Friday imposed daily limits on fuel sales after panic buying and stockpiling raised concerns about supply.
The country of 170 million people imports 95 per cent of its oil and gas needs.
The national oil company, Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC), restricted fuel sales for most vehicles.
For example, motorcyclists are now limited to a maximum of 2 litres per tank.
"Consumers tend to buy more than they usually purchase" during times of crisis, BPC said in a statement.
As soon as the restrictions took effect on Sunday, long lines of vehicles formed outside petrol stations in the capital, Dhaka.
"I waited for more than an hour to get 2 litres," said motorcyclist Md Al-Amin, 45.
"My tank holds 8 litres, and I usually fill up once a week — so now I'll have to come back the day after tomorrow."
Ahmad Rush estimated that the number of customers at his outlet had almost doubled.
"We opened at 7:30 this morning and were able to refuel 300 vehicles in three and a half hours," he said.
BPC said that fuel deliveries were expected soon.
Bangladesh's rationing and pricing decisions would be "partially effective", said Khondaker Golam Moazzem, an industrial economist and research director at the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD).
"Since the measures needed to be taken very abruptly, the government could not get a lot of time to get people prepared for such a crisis," Dr Moazzem told the ABC.
Dr Moazzem also said Bangladesh was trying to source fuel and energy from "alternative sources", including some South-East Asian countries.
South Korea
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said on Monday that authorities would cap domestic fuel prices for the first time in nearly 30 years.
Speaking at an emergency meeting on the impact of the Middle East crisis, Mr Lee said the government would "swiftly introduce and boldly implement" a maximum price system on petroleum products "that have recently seen excessive price increases".
The current crisis "is a significant burden on our economy, which is highly dependent on global trade and energy imports from the Middle East", Mr Lee said.
He added that South Korea would also look for sources of energy beyond supplies shipped via the Strait of Hormuz.
Mr Lee said a 100 trillion won ($96 billion) market stabilisation program should be expanded if needed, and called on the government and the central bank to prepare additional measures to respond to the volatility of the financial and foreign exchange markets.
Japan
Oil prices in Japan surged more than 25 per cent on Monday to their highest levels since mid-2022.
"Many people are worried about rising gasoline prices," Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi told parliament.
"Taking this into account, the government has been considering since last week what steps it can ?take.
"We're considering steps to avoid gasoline prices from rising to levels intolerable for the public," she said, adding that such measures could be funded by tapping reserves.
Ms Takaichi ruled out overhauling the government's draft fiscal 2026 budget, which is now being deliberated in parliament, or compiling a stopgap budget to fund the measures.
Also on Monday, finance ministers from the Group of Seven (G7), of which Japan is a member, said they were prepared to implement "necessary measures" in response to surging global oil prices.
However, they stopped short of committing to release emergency reserves, despite crude prices briefly surpassing $170 a barrel.
"We are not there yet," French Finance Minister Roland Lescure told reporters in Brussels.
"What we've agreed upon is to use any necessary tools if need be to stabilise the market, including the potential release of necessary stockpiles."
Sri Lanka
Long queues have formed at fuel stations across Sri Lanka amid fears of oil shortages in the island nation, which is still recovering from a deep financial crisis.
The country of 22 million people is clawing its way back from a crisis brought about by a record shortfall of dollars in 2022, supported by a $US2.9 billion loan program from the International Monetary Fund.
At the height of its problems, Sri Lanka faced a massive fuel shortage for months that sparked huge protests and the eventual ousting of former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa in July 2022.
Many Sri Lankans were panic-buying despite assurances from the authorities that Sri Lanka had enough stocks of diesel and petrol to last 35 and 37 days, respectively, the full amount that the country usually stores.
"There is fuel. People are panicking because of the war and they are themselves creating these lines," said Mohammed Aslem, who drives a three-wheeler in Colombo.
"So, people are just flocking to the stations, but there is enough fuel in Sri Lanka."
Sri Lanka spent $3.83 billion on fuel imports last year, according to government data, with most shipments arriving from India and Singapore.
"Sri Lanka does not have enough storage facilities to store fuel beyond the next few weeks, but there are sufficient confirmed shipments till the end of this month," said S. Rajakaruna, chairman of the state-run Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC).
The CPC also stepped up distribution, releasing more than 5 million litres of fuel despite Monday being a public holiday, Rajakaruna added.
Police have ordered stations to stop dispensing fuel into cans and have warned of legal action against hoarders.
Philippines
On Friday, Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr ordered a "temporary implementation" of a four-day work week as part of the government's efforts to conserve energy and reduce fuel use.
In a statement, Mr Marcos said the policy would apply to selected offices under the executive branch.
A further announcement said that the order would cover all national government agencies, government-owned or controlled corporations, local government units, constitutional bodies, state universities and colleges, and other government instrumentalities.
"There is an urgent need to adopt strict energy conservation measures, to further reduce the energy footprint of government operations and optimise the use of public resources," the memo read.
In addition to the shortened work week, Mr Marcos directed government agencies to cut their electricity and fuel consumption by 10 to 20 per cent.
Pakistan
Pakistan on Friday raised petrol and diesel prices by 55 rupees ($0.28) per litre, the largest increase on record.
"To stabilise the economy we have taken difficult decisions," Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said in a televised address to the nation.
He added that the government was trying to minimise the burden on citizens, although it had little control over global fuel prices.
The prime minister also announced that schools would close and office workers would work more from home, as part of the country's measures to cut fuel use and government spending.
Starting next week, schools will close for two weeks, while universities will shift to online classes to reduce commuting.
Government departments will face a 50 per cent cut in fuel allowances for two months, while 60 per cent of official vehicles, excluding buses and ambulances, will be taken off the road, Mr Sharif said.
Pakistan imports oil mainly from Saudi Arabia and the UAE through the Strait of Hormuz.
The government will reassess prices weekly, the oil minister said.
India
Indian companies have raised the prices of liquefied petroleum gas, mostly used as a cooking fuel, for the first time in about a year.
Indian Oil Corp (IOC), the country's top refiner and LPG seller, has increased the prices of a 14.2-kg LPG cylinder in Delhi by 7 per cent to 913 rupees ($14), according to its website.
State refiners IOC, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum raised prices in tandem.
India, the world's second-biggest importer of LPG, last year consumed 33.15 million metric tons of cooking gas, a mixture of propane and butane, with imports accounting for about two-thirds of LPG consumption.
Middle Eastern LPG accounts for 85 to 90 per cent of those imports.
IOC has booked some oil cargoes for loading from the Red Sea port of Yanbu in Saudi Arabia, a company source said on Saturday.
Indonesia
Indonesia will increase the amount it has allocated for fuel subsidies in its state budget, its finance minister said on Monday.
The country has now budgeted 381.3 trillion rupiah ($32 billion) for energy subsidies and to compensate state firm Pertamina and utility company PLN for their efforts to keep some fuel prices and electricity tariffs at an affordable level.
Indonesia may also revive a plan to launch a mandatory B50 grade of palm oil-based biodiesel in the middle of this year because of the surging crude oil prices, deputy energy minister Yuliot Tanjung said.
But no decision has been made yet, Mr Yuliot said in comments sent to Reuters.
In January, authorities scrapped the idea to launch B50 — a blend of 50 per cent palm oil-based biodiesel and 50 per cent conventional diesel — instead sticking with a B40 blend.
"B50 might be implemented in the second semester or even earlier … but for now the steering committee's decision for B40 until the end of 2026 still stands," he said, adding that authorities were monitoring price movements in real time.
ABC/wires
