South Korea’s KOSPI Triggers Trading Curb as AI Chip Stock Selloff Deepens 
South Korea’s KOSPI Enters Bear Market Despite Remaining 2026’s Best-Performing Major Stock Index 
Japanese Yen Holds Steady as Intervention Hopes Grow Ahead of U.S. CPI Data 
China Q2 2026 GDP Misses Forecast as Weak Domestic Demand Offsets Export Strength 
European Stocks Slip as Middle East Tensions and Hormuz Threat Rattle Markets 
Asia Stocks Slip as Iran-Hormuz Tensions Lift Oil Prices, Dollar and Bond Yields 
Asian Currencies Weaken as Stronger Dollar Weighs, Yen Supported by GPIF Repatriation Hopes 
Gold Prices Fall as US-Iran Conflict, Rising Oil Prices Fuel Fed Rate Concerns 
Dollar Slides as Softer US Inflation Dims Fed Rate Hike Expectations 
Asian Currencies Stay Rangebound as Middle East Tensions, Weak China GDP Weigh on Sentiment 
Dollar Rises as Middle East Conflict Fuels Inflation and Rate Hike Fears 
Australian Business Conditions Hold Steady as Easing Cost Pressures Face New Oil Price Risks 
China Trade Surplus Hits $125.6 Billion as June Exports, Imports Smash Forecasts 
Singapore GDP Grows 5.7% in Q2 2026 as AI-Driven Manufacturing Boosts Economy 
Asian Stocks Rise as Softer U.S. Inflation Boosts Sentiment Despite Middle East Tensions 
US Inflation Expected to Ease in June, but Fed Rate Hike Risks Persist Amid Middle East Tensions 
Global energy markets remain on edge as the U.S. blockade on Iranian ports continues to disrupt shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical chokepoint that normally handles roughly one-fifth of worldwide oil and gas exports. Since the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran began on February 28, the strait has been largely closed — yet a growing number of non-Iranian tankers have successfully navigated through, signaling cautious efforts to restore supply chains.
Several Asian nations have managed to move crude shipments through the passage under carefully coordinated arrangements. Vietnam is expecting Iraqi Basra crude aboard the Malta-flagged VLCC Agios Fanourios I, which entered the Gulf on April 15 after an earlier failed attempt. Malaysia secured passage for at least seven linked vessels, including the Liberia-flagged Serifos carrying Saudi and UAE crude, and the Petronas-chartered Ocean Thunder loaded with Iraqi oil.
China has also kept its energy imports moving, with multiple VLCCs chartered by Sinopec's trading arm Unipec passing through in early April, carrying Iraqi and Saudi crude bound for Chinese and Myanmar ports. Beijing confirmed in late March that three Chinese vessels had safely transited the strait through diplomatic coordination.
India has received shipments via several tankers offloading Saudi and Abu Dhabi crude at ports including Mumbai, Paradip, and Sikka. Additionally, multiple LPG tankers carrying approximately 94,000 metric tons of cooking gas completed safe passages for Indian consumers. Pakistan also sent tankers into the Gulf to load crude from the UAE and Kuwait, while Thailand confirmed one of its tankers cleared the strait without paying any blockade fee following direct negotiations with Iran.
Despite the ongoing conflict, these transits highlight how key Asian economies are working through diplomatic and logistical channels to protect their energy security amid one of the most volatile periods in global oil shipping in recent memory.
