West Asia

American forces struck five Iranian oil tankers on the night of 8 September in retaliation for what Washington said was an attack on its warships near the Strait of Hormuz. Iran fired a barrage of ballistic missiles at the U.S. base at Al-Azraq in Jordan and targeted at least twenty ships attempting the passage.

The Houthis took the strategic island in the Bab el-Mandeb strait on 11 September after a week-long offensive that left hundreds dead, sealing control of a shipping corridor linking Europe and Asia. Saudi Arabia shut an oil pipeline the following day after attacks from Iraq.

Brent futures breached $100 on 9 September for the first time since July 2024, after the exchange of strikes between the United States and Iran around the Strait of Hormuz disrupted traffic through the passage.

The booking gap for rural consumers was cut from 45 days to 25. Intervals had been stretched in March 2026 during the West Asia conflict. India imports about 60% of its LPG, of which 90% once came through the Strait of Hormuz; the United States now supplies nearly two-thirds of that import basket.

Oil marketing companies raised the price of the commercial LPG cylinder by ₹10 and aviation turbine fuel by ₹6.28 a litre from 1 September, reversing two months of cuts. Domestic LPG consumption fell about 16% in August, with new connections still on hold because of the West Asia conflict.

Iran attacked American bases in West Asia on 3 September despite warnings from President Trump. The exchange began at the end of August, when the United States struck Iranian rocket launchers on Larak island to stop Tehran mining the shipping lane, and Iran hit U.S. bases in Jordan and the UAE.

The Petroleum Ministry has paused the release of new LPG connections, calling it a temporary measure forced by the geopolitical situation. Distributors are pushing 5-kg free-trade cylinders and 10-kg composite cylinders as alternatives. Six months into the war, the Strait of Hormuz remains practically closed: average flows are about 0.25 million barrels a day against 15 million before the conflict.

The Reserve Bank of India’s monthly bulletin named the West Asia conflict as a continuing challenge to the economy. It nonetheless described domestic demand as buoyant, pointing to indicators such as vehicle sales and petroleum product consumption remaining in positive territory.