Global Energy Price Shock Triggers Protests and Economic Strain

From Indonesia to Guatemala to Syria, shortages and price increases are leading to protests and blackouts.

1. Global energy crisis intensifies

· Oil prices have risen above US$100 per barrel, triggering renewed public anger across several countries.

· Protests, fuel shortages, long queues and transport disruptions are emerging as governments struggle to manage the shock.

· Developing Asian economies are particularly exposed because of their dependence on Middle Eastern energy and already-high debt burdens.

· Governments face a difficult choice between passing higher fuel costs to consumers—risking inflation and unrest—or expanding subsidies and financial support, potentially worsening fiscal deficits and putting pressure on currencies.

2. Indonesia — Fuel rationing and shortages

· Makassar: reports of cooking-gas shortages, rolling blackouts and gasoline rationing.

· Motorists have been forced to wait in long queues or push motorbikes with empty tanks.

· Taxi drivers protested a new odd-even licence-plate fuel-rationing system.

· Students in Yogyakarta demonstrated against rising fuel prices.

· The government had budgeted on oil at about US$70/barrel, while public debt has risen since the conflict began.

· Debate is intensifying over whether subsidised fuel should continue for wealthier households.

3. Philippines — Transport and fishing hit

· Fishermen around Manila Bay are staying ashore because they cannot afford diesel/gasoline.

· Bus and ride-share drivers have staged demonstrations and, in some cases, stopped working.

· Filipino drivers reportedly working 15–18 hours a day may earn only enough for a single meal.

· Vietnam has also seen a fuel-cost-related boycott by Grab drivers.

· The Philippine government has offered public-transport drivers a one-time payment of about US$80, which industry representatives say is insufficient.

4. Guatemala — Fuel protests turn violent

· Transport workers and Indigenous activists have protested against fuel prices and demanded measures beyond temporary price caps and subsidies.

· Demands include suspending fuel taxes and reducing dependence on fossil fuels.

· Farmers are particularly affected because of their heavy reliance on diesel for agricultural machinery.

· Protests have included road blockades and, in Villa Nueva, reports/videos of cars being set ablaze.

5. Portugal — Drivers organise “buzinões”

· Portuguese motorists organised slow-driving, horn-honking protests known as “buzinões”.

· Demonstrations caused traffic congestion on major routes, including Lisbon’s 25 de Abril Bridge.

· A convoy also blocked roads near a major refinery in Sines.

· Diesel prices reportedly exceeded US$9 per gallon.

· The article links the energy shock to concerns about inflation, political dissatisfaction and growing populist sentiment.

6. Bangladesh — Energy shortages hit garment industry

· Bangladesh imports more than 90% of its petroleum, with most supplies coming from the Middle East.

· Shortages of LNG used for electricity generation have resulted in rationing and temporary garment-factory closures.

· Factories that switched to diesel after the Iran war began are now facing higher diesel costs.

· Power cuts in Gazipur garment factories are reportedly occurring four or five times a day.

· Repeated stoppages across numerous factories are becoming routine, threatening the country's major export industry.

7. Sri Lanka — Fuel suppliers operating at losses

· Sri Lanka regulates fuel prices monthly.

· Fuel distributors have begun restricting supplies while anticipating further price increases.

· The Filling Station Owners’ Association says distributors are operating at a loss.

· The government is considering raising official fuel prices while simultaneously adding subsidies.

· The dilemma is particularly serious because Sri Lanka already has a very high public-debt-to-GDP ratio.

8. Syria — 40% petroleum-price increase sparks protests

· Syria announced temporary increases of up to 40% for gasoline, diesel and other petroleum products.

· Protests followed in several cities.

· Demonstrators blocked roads, gathered in public squares and burned tyres.

· Protesters demanded cancellation of the price increases.

· Government officials said the increases were unavoidable because of the war.

9. Wider economic impact

· The immediate transmission mechanism is:

Higher oil prices → higher transport/fuel costs → higher food and production costs → inflation → pressure on household incomes → protests/strikes → reduced economic activity.

· For heavily indebted developing economies, subsidising fuel can provide short-term relief but increases fiscal pressure.

· Conversely, allowing fuel prices to rise can protect public finances but risks inflation, political unrest and reduced economic activity.

10. Central issue

· The article highlights a growing fiscal-policy dilemma for developing economies: whether governments have enough fiscal capacity to absorb another major energy shock.

· If governments exhaust their ability to subsidise fuel and support affected sectors, the consequences could extend beyond individual countries to global financial markets and broader economic stability.

[ABS News Service/16.09.2026]

The world is furious — again — over rising energy prices caused by the American-Israeli war against Iran.

Since the latest surge pushed oil above $100 a barrel, protesters have burned tires and cars in Guatemala and Syria to express their rage.

Portugal’s roads have featured cars crawling in protest with honking horns after diesel reached a record high of more than $9 a gallon.

And especially in the developing countries of Asia, which are heavily reliant on Middle Eastern energy and deep in debt from earlier efforts to offset the war’s impacts, transport systems and governments are facing another round of enormous strain.

Fuel shortages and long lines at the pump are slowing economies along with strikes by taxi drivers and laborers who see no point in working when earnings barely cover energy costs.

Many countries are confronting a difficult question: Is it riskier to pass on price increases to a combustible public, accelerating inflation, or bolster subsidies and aid that would drive up public debt and possibly threaten the stability of national currencies?

“How much fiscal capacity does Asia or the developing world have in general to manage this geopolitical crisis?” said Sana Jaffrey, a lecturer at the Australian National University who researches conflict and state-building in Asia. “What happens to global financial markets when that capacity starts to run out?”

“At some point,” she added, “it’s going to become everyone’s problem.”

Here are some global flash points The New York Times is monitoring.

Indonesia

In Makassar, South Sulawesi, residents this week reported shortages of cooking gas, rolling blackouts and a sudden move toward gasoline rationing.

Across the provincial capital, drivers pushed motorbikes with empty tanks or left them in long lines near pumps with nothing to give. Taxi drivers held a protest on Monday against a new rationing system organized by odd and even license plate numbers.

Tensions have also been rising in Yogyakarta, in Java. Students demonstrated against surging fuel prices on Monday — only to have their rally broken up by aggressive pro-government organizations.

Discussions about ending subsidized fuel access for wealthy and middle-class households have been intensifying. The government’s calculations before the war assumed oil prices would be at around $70 a barrel, and public debt has soared since the conflict started.

The Philippines

Fishermen along Manila Bay who use boats powered by diesel or gas had hoped this week to venture out to sea after weeks of monsoon rains. Large numbers are now staying in port.

“Many were raring to go back to fish, but have no money to buy gas,” said Fernando Hicap, the national chairman of a major fishing association. “The new round of price adjustments have been choking many of us to death.”

Bus and ride-share drivers have also been marching in Quezon City, and quietly protesting by not working — a trend also popping up elsewhere. In Vietnam over the weekend, drivers with Grab, a ride-hailing app, called for a boycott to protest low pay caused in part by rising fuel costs.

Modesto Floranda, the leader of a 70,000-strong group of Filipino bus drivers and owners, said that working 15 to 18 hours a day now only earns enough for a single meal.

The government has offered one-time payments of about $80 to public transportation drivers.

“It is not enough,” he said.

Guatemala

Transport workers and Indigenous activists marched through the streets of Guatemala City recently, demanding more than stopgap measures like price caps and subsidies.

Some groups have called for a suspension of fuel taxes and a shift away from fossil fuels, which critics see as a source for elite enrichment and environmental damage. Farmers across Latin America, heavily reliant on diesel for tractors, have been especially frustrated.

At one recent march in Guatemala, where videos showed a thick throng of workers, an organizer with a megaphone characterized the economic struggle as a contest between governments and the wealthy, and everyone else.

“They are in a place of luxury, that’s why they don’t think about our misery, hunger, or the cost of the basic food needs of the working class,” he said. “We will also continue to put pressure on them.”

A few days later, in Villa Nueva, just south of the capital, videos showed cars set ablaze in the streets.

Portugal

Organizing mainly on social media, Portuguese drivers gathered last week for several “buzinões” — protests with cars driving slowly while honking. They caused traffic jams across several key thoroughfares including the 25 de Abril Bridge in Lisbon.

In a sign of growing frustration with large oil and gas interests, one vehicle convoy blocked access to roads near a major refinery in Sines, according to a local news site.

Naomi Hossain, a political sociologist at the University of London who has studied the impacts of energy shocks, said that it was common for people to assume that fossil fuel costs and inflation rise “because of collusion between political elites and businesses.”

“There are good reasons to believe that untamed inflation is pushing voters to the right,” she said. “Centrist governments don’t seem to be able to do much to protect people against these shocks, and there are no realistic left alternatives in most places. So one consequence is it’s feeding populism.”

Bangladesh

Bangladesh imports more than 90 percent of the petroleum it uses, and most of it comes from the Middle East.

Shortages in the liquid natural gas needed to produce electricity have led to rationing and the temporary closure of garment factories — the main engine of the country’s economy. Many turned to diesel after the war in Iran started in February, only to see those prices now rising.

Robiul Hasan Mehedi, an officer at a garment factory in Bangladesh’s garment hub, Gazipur, said Tuesday that power cuts are now happening four or five times a day.

Several hours of work stoppage — multiplied by dozens of factories and thousands of workers — is now the norm.

Nahid Islam, an opposition leader, said in a protest rally in Dhaka this month that the crowds were marching in part “against those who are forming syndicates around gas, oil and electricity and trying to increase prices.”

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka’s government sets fuel prices each month, but fuel distributors that sell to gas stations have started restricting supply as they wait for an expected surge.

“They’re operating at a loss,” Kumara Rajapaksha, the chair of the Filling Station Owners’ Association, told reporters on Monday.

Anura Karunathilaka, Sri Lanka’s energy minister, said that officials were considering whether to raise official prices and add subsidies. The country’s debt to gross domestic product ratio is already among the highest in the developing world.

Syria

Just a few hours after the government said that it would temporarily raise prices for gasoline, diesel and other petroleum products by as much as 40 percent, Syrians took to the streets.

Angry crowds in several cities gathered in squares, blocked traffic, and set tires on fire, calling for the price surge to be canceled.

In one video posted online, a man poured what he said was gasoline over his head and threatened to set himself on fire before a crowd intervened.

Government officials said that they had no choice but to raise prices because of the war.