New York – Here are the latest global economic developments on Monday around 06:30, after 37 days of conflict in the Middle East:
1. Oil remains cautious
Oil prices were slightly down amid limited trading activity during the Easter holiday. Investors were reacting to some encouraging news regarding the war in Iran, including the passage of several oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz.
Around 06:20, the price of the North Sea Brent crude oil barrel for June delivery, the reference contract, was down 0.77% at $108.19 US.
Its American equivalent, the West Texas Intermediate barrel for May delivery, dropped by 1.22% to $110.18 US.
“There is clearly a certain volume of goods passing through the strait. This is far from normalizing commercial maritime traffic, but it is definitely a step in the right direction,” said Ole R. Hvalbye, an analyst at SEB, in an interview with AFP.
Reports of ongoing negotiations between the belligerents were also favoring some calmness.
2. Indonesia authorizes up to 13% increase in tariffs on domestic flights
Indonesia announced a 28% increase in fuel surcharge and allowed airlines to implement up to a 13% increase in ticket prices on domestic flights, whose prices are regulated, according to the country’s economy minister, due to the impact of the Middle East war on fuel costs.
3. AirAsia raises prices and reduces flights to cushion the impact of the Middle East war
The largest low-cost airline in Southeast Asia, AirAsia, announced plans to raise ticket prices and reduce flights to mitigate the effects of the Middle East war, while emphasizing that there is still strong demand for flights.
The Malaysia-based low-cost carrier said that approximately 10% of all its flights had been canceled to date.
4. Sri Lanka: another surge in cooking gas prices
Sri Lanka announced another over 20% increase in liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) prices due to rising global market prices.
The increase brought the price from 4,630 to 5,700 Sri Lankan rupees (from $14.6 to $18 US, +23%) at one of the country’s main private suppliers, as observed by AFP reporters.
5. South Korea to deploy ships to a Saudi port to bypass the Strait of Hormuz
South Korea will send five South Korean-flagged ships to the Saudi port of Yanbu to help establish alternative oil supply routes to bypass the Strait of Hormuz, where traffic is disrupted by the Middle East war, a member of the ruling party said.
6. Ships pass through the Strait of Hormuz
A Japanese shipping company announced that an Indian-flagged oil tanker owned by its subsidiary had crossed the Strait of Hormuz en route to India, becoming the third ship linked to Japan to transit through the strait.
A third vessel owned by a Turkish shipowner, an oil tanker bound for Malaysia, also passed through the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday evening, announced Turkish Transport Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu.
7. OPEC+ to further increase production
Saudi Arabia, Russia, and six other members of the OPEC+ organization decided on Sunday to once again raise their oil production quotas by 216,000 barrels per day starting in May.
OPEC+ warned that repairs to energy facilities damaged by the war were “costly” and would take “a lot of time,” which could worsen global oil supply issues.
