Key takeaways

Asia is exposed to the Middle East conflict and the resulting rise in oil and gas prices. Most countries in the region are net energy importers (Malaysia is a notable exception). Even if the pass‑through to headline inflation remains limited, sustaining cost‑of‑living support to shield household purchasing power will be expensive for governments. Many of these governments entered the shock with weak fiscal positions and active fiscal consolidation plans; the conflict will make consolidation more difficult. In practice, policymakers are likely to reallocate spending from capex — weakening growth perspectives — toward subsidies as a first response, before accepting wider fiscal slippage. On the investment side, we should not underestimate the impact on North‑East Asia’s energy‑intensive chip and memory sectors and the global repercussions if those supply chains are disrupted. The region still has short‑term buffers for energy — more than three months for oil in many cases, but substantially less for gas.

Read more