Governments move to shield consumers from soaring energy costs

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The closure of the Strait of Hormuz in the Gulf has roiled energy and financial markets, with oil prices up around 40 percent since the start of the fighting.

The International Chamber of Commerce warned Wednesday that the war in the Middle East could cause the "worst industrial crisis in living memory".

"The head of the International Energy Agency has warned that the world is facing an energy crisis more severe than the oil shocks of the 1970s," said John Denton.

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"From a business perspective, we believe this could yet become the worst industrial crisis in living memory — not only because of surging energy prices, but because industrial production itself is being disrupted and dislocated by shortages of gas and other essential inputs."

This is how countries are scrambling to shield ⁠consumers from soaring energy costs:

France

France's INSEE statistics agency trimmed its growth forecast for the first and second quarters of this year to 0.2 percent as the country's economy is "struck by global turmoil".

Household ‌consumption, traditionally the engine of French growth, is expected to slow at the start of the year as higher fuel prices curb spending on energy and transport-related goods, INSEE said.

Italy

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has said Italy is considering cutting excise duties ‌to soften fuel prices and is ready to raise taxes on firms capitalising on the energy crisis.

European Union

European Union leaders called for temporary measures to mitigate the impact of ⁠a surge in energy prices, with electricity tax cuts, lower grid fees and state support put forward as possible short-term fixes.

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Spain

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said parliament is expected to vote on measures proposed by the cabinet to help citizens weather the economic fallout, including lowering fuel and electricity taxes and granting fuel subsidies to sectors most exposed to energy price spikes.

Greece

Greece will offer subsidies for fuel and fertilisers and ferry ticket discounts worth a total of €300 million in April and May to shield consumers and farmers, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said.

Slovenia

Slovenia on Sunday temporarily limited fuel purchases to tackle shortages caused in part by cross-border fuelling and stockpiling due to the Iran war.

Serbia

Serbia will cut excise duties on crude oil by a cumulative 60 percent to calm the local market.

It has also extended a ban on crude oil and fuel product exports to safeguard its market from shortages and price spikes.

Kuwait

Drones hit a fuel tank and sparked a fire at Kuwait International Airport, the Gulf state's civil aviation authority said on Wednesday, as Iran presses on with its attacks in the nearly four-week regional war.

Citing preliminary information, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation said in a statement posted online that the attack had caused only "limited" damage and no casualties.

Vietnam

The price of diesel in Vietnam has more than doubled since the start of the Middle East war, according to figures released by the country's trade ministry.

Vietnam has recently asked for fuel support from several countries, including Qatar, Kuwait, Algeria and Japan, and on Monday signed a deal with Russia on oil and gas production in both countries.

Philippines

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos declared a state of "national energy emergency", citing risks to the domestic fuel supply.

The state of emergency was declared hours after the country's energy secretary said the Philippines planned to boost the output of its coal-fired power plants to keep electricity costs down as the war wreaks havoc with gas shipments.

The country is set to import Russian oil next week for the first time in five years, according to data from LSEG, Kpler and OilX.

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Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka ordered street lights, neon signs and billboard lighting to be switched off as part of measures to cut energy consumption by 25 percent and tackle supply shortages.

Government spokesman Nalinda Jayatissa said all state institutions had been asked to reduce the use of air conditioning.

Sri Lanka has already raised fuel prices by a third, and last week, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake urged electric car owners to avoid overnight charging.

Bangladesh

Bangladesh raised jet fuel prices by 79 percent. The order by the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission, the second this month, means jet fuel prices have surged by around 111 percent since the start of the war.

Ireland

Ireland slashed the excise duty on petrol and diesel in a bid to stem surging prices at filling stations.

Excise duty on diesel will fall by 20 cents a litre and by 15 cents a litre on petrol until the end of May, according to Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin.

India

India will review its fuel exports if needed to ensure availability in the local markets, a government official said.

India is assessing fuel-supply requests from its neighbours and will approve exports only if it has surplus volumes, the foreign ministry said.

The country has barred consumers with piped natural gas from retaining, obtaining or refilling domestic liquefied petroleum gas cylinders.

It has invoked emergency powers and directed refiners to maximise production of LPG, widely used for cooking. It cut sales to avoid shortages for 333 million homes with LPG connections.

South Korea

South Korea is easing limits on coal-fired ‌power generation capacity and raising nuclear power plant utilisation to as high as 80 percent.

It is considering additional energy vouchers to support vulnerable households.

China

China has banned ⁠refined fuel exports to pre-empt a potential domestic fuel shortage, four sources said.

It is also releasing fertiliser supplies from national commercial reserves ahead of spring planting.

Australia

Australia is releasing petrol/gasoline and diesel from domestic reserves to ease shortages affecting rural supply chains, as well as mining and agriculture.

Japan

Japan ‌has asked Australia, its biggest supplier of liquefied natural gas, to boost output.

Cambodia

Cambodia is importing more fuel from suppliers in Singapore and Malaysia to make up for supply shortfalls ‌from Vietnam and China.

Malaysia

Malaysia will raise spending on petrol subsidies to 2 billion ringgit ($510 million) from 700 million ringgit to maintain the fixed price of fuel.

Thailand

Thailand has discussed with the Russian government the possibility of purchasing crude oil, a deputy prime minister said.

The minister also said the government would try to cap domestic diesel prices at 33 baht ($1.02) per litre.

The Thai Planning Agency said the government will freeze prices of some goods and provide support for farmers.

Indonesia

Indonesia's President Prabowo Subianto wants to increase the country’s coal production, and the government is considering a windfall tax on exports.

Brazil

Brazil is rolling out a new plan to help states subsidise diesel imports. Earlier in March, the government scrapped federal taxes on diesel and imposed a 12 percent tax on oil exports.

Egypt

Egypt has capped the price of unsubsidised bread sold in private bakeries.

Ethiopia

Ethiopia has increased fuel subsidies.

North Macedonia

The North Macedonian government on Sunday decided to cut VAT on fuel to stem the price hike at the pump. The VAT on gasoline and diesel will be cut from 18 percent to 10 percent, Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski told local media. The measure will come into effect on Monday at midnight and will be in ⁠effect for two weeks.

Mauritius

Mauritius said it would introduce energy-saving measures. Restrictions announced include curbs on grid power for non-essential uses such as decorative lighting, swimming pool heating and fountains, the government said.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP and Reuters)

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