Recent geopolitical events have shuffled oil and fuel supply, resulting in tightness across markets in Asia and Europe, partially met by incremental supply from other regions. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz made market prices soar and several key suppliers restricted exports. This reduced Naphtha and petrochemical supplies from the Middle East to cutbacks in refined fuel supplies ex China, South Korea, Taiwan and Japan. With no end to the Middle East conflict in sight, the situation could deteriorate further.











