Iran war spreading economic damage far beyond oil and gas markets

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Iran war spreading economic damage far beyond oil and gas markets

The conflict has hit Europe and Asia harder than the United States, with rising shipping costs and energy prices.

March 8, 2026 at 5:00 a.m. EDT Today at 5:00 a.m. EDT
8 min


A dockyard in the Strait of Hormuz, seen Feb. 25. (Giuseppe Cacace/AFP/Getty Images)

By David J. Lynch

Iranian missile and drone attacks have disrupted the flow of commerce through one of the global economy’s most critical hubs, paralyzing much of the ocean and air traffic that carries goods between Asia and Europe while punishing investors in faraway financial markets.

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1. For example

https://archive.ph/ZYrC7

The closure of several international airports in the conflict zone, including the world’s busiest in Dubai, idled nearly one-fifth of global airfreight capacity, interrupting shipments of consumer electronics, pharmaceuticals and precious metals.

But the pain is not being felt equally. The cost of shipping goods by air from Asia to Europe is up 45 percent since the war began, more than twice the increase for sending items from Asia to the United States, said Ryan Petersen, chief executive of Flexport, a freight forwarder and logistics company in San Francisco.

... “Europe and Asia are heavily dependent on energy imports, so that alone makes them more vulnerable to negative macroeconomic spillovers from the Iran war,”

That does not mean Americans will escape unscathed. Gasoline prices now average $3.41 a gallon, up from $2.98 one week ago, according to AAA. Farmers face higher bills for critical crop nutrients, and additional supply chain headaches are certain if the Iran conflict continues longer than the Trump administration anticipates.

.. . Air cargo thus far has been more heavily affected than seaborne shipments.

... Farmers, meanwhile, will probably be among the first Americans to feel a financial jolt from the war . . . Urea prices jumped by roughly one-quarter last week