Thailand has been named among Asia’s most exposed economies after Iran announced the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, threatening global crude and LNG flows. A CNBC report on Tuesday (March 3) said Thailand is likely to face severe fallout from higher oil prices. Brent crude was trading at around US$81 a barrel on Tuesday, having climbed more than 10% since the conflict erupted.

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Senior commanders in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) have warned that any ship attempting to transit the waterway would be attacked. CNBC, citing energy consultancy Kpler, said the Strait of Hormuz, between Oman and Iran, carried about 13 million barrels a day of crude oil in 2025, or roughly 31% of global seaborne crude flows.

The report said roughly 20% of global LNG exports transit the strait, much of it tied to Qatar. It added that Qatar has temporarily halted LNG output after Iranian drone attacks hit facilities in the Ras Laffan and Mesaieed industrial cities.

CNBC cited Nomura analysis saying Thailand is among the most exposed Asian economies to an oil-price shock, as the country’s net oil imports amount to 4.7% of GDP, the highest share in the region. Nomura said that for every 10% rise in oil prices, Thailand’s current account balance could worsen by about 0.5% of GDP. Some analysts believe that if the closure drags on, oil prices could surge beyond US$100 a barrel.

Other Asian economies would see varying degrees of impact. Nomura identified India, South Korea and the Philippines as vulnerable due to high reliance on imported energy. It said Qatar and the UAE account for 99% of Pakistan’s LNG imports and 72% of Bangladesh’s imports, while India would face higher crude import costs and surging LNG prices.

The Nation reported that Nomura also said Japan and South Korea depend heavily on Middle East oil, around 75% and 70% respectively and have LNG stockpiles sufficient for only two to four weeks. China was described as better placed in the short term, with about 40% of its oil imports passing through Hormuz and more than 7.6 million tonnes of LNG in storage. Malaysia was cited as an exception, as higher oil prices could benefit government revenues.

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Adapted by ASEAN Now Nation 4 Mar 2026

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However according to Mr Anutin the Iranian war has a little impact on the Thai economy as he said this earlier this week

2 hours ago, ikke1959 said:

However according to Mr Anutin the Iranian war has a little impact on the Thai economy as he said this earlier this week

He needs to get real. Higher oil prices translates into to higher prices for fuel, fertilizer, transportation, and almost everything else. The suspension of flights will surely put a crimp in tourism numbers.

2 hours ago, ikke1959 said:

However according to Mr Anutin the Iranian war has a little impact on the Thai economy as he said this earlier this week

What Anutin says to the public, and what Anutin knows and thinks are 2 different things. His little family construction company - Sino-Thai Engineering - is the second largest construction company in Thailand, so Anutin is well aware of the potential devastating impacts of the war on Thailand.

Somehow' anyhow' we need to keep the Baht up, arrivals up and fallout down 🤔

This needs to be stopped real quick... the world is in no position for economic strangulation.

13 minutes ago, jacko45k said:

This needs to be stopped real quick... the world is in no position for economic strangulation.

This is not going to be the slam/dunk Trump envisioned. It doesn't look if Iran will be running out of steam anytime soon.

24 minutes ago, Hawaiian said:

This is not going to be the slam/dunk Trump envisioned. It doesn't look if Iran will be running out of steam anytime soon.

Personally I doubt they can really stop navigation for long the United States military is just to powerful…..do they have any navy left or has it all been destroyed?im guessing the Hormuz will be back in business soon.im more concerned about terriost attacks and the like they are expert at that.

5 minutes ago, Tug said:

Personally I doubt they can really stop navigation for long the United States military is just to powerful…..do they have any navy left or has it all been destroyed?im guessing the Hormuz will be back in business soon.im more concerned about terriost attacks and the like they are expert at that.

Iran still has thousands of drones left, more than enough to threaten shipping in the strait. As I mentioned in a previous post, drones are cheaper and more effective at this job than navy vessels. The waterway is only a short distance from the Iranian mainland.

The U.S. forces already have their hands full and no matter what Trump says they can't do everything at once.

3 hours ago, Tug said:

Personally I doubt they can really stop navigation for long the United States military is just to powerful…..do they have any navy left or has it all been destroyed?im guessing the Hormuz will be back in business soon.im more concerned about terriost attacks and the like they are expert at that.

Everyone seems to be concentrating on Iran's surface and air war capabilities but few mention it's very significant underwater capabilities wrt Russian built K class subs, home produced submarines, mini submarines and minelaying capabilities!

Naval Mines: Iran's Not-So-Secret Deadly Weapon - The National Interest

22 hours ago, Hawaiian said:

This is not going to be the slam/dunk Trump envisioned. It doesn't look if Iran will be running out of steam anytime soon.

I believe the U.S./Israel/European Axis of Evil is in for a powerful awakening in the next few weeks, busting their delusions of a superiority complex.

21 hours ago, Hawaiian said:

Iran still has thousands of drones left, more than enough to threaten shipping in the strait. As I mentioned in a previous post, drones are cheaper and more effective at this job than navy vessels. The waterway is only a short distance from the Iranian mainland.

The U.S. forces already have their hands full and no matter what Trump says they can't do everything at once.

Adding that the Iranians haven't even begun to use their highly developed hypersonic arms [which number in the thousands].....

Maybe Thailand should have other sources for that ? Several other countries would be happy to sell it to them.

Fuel shortages in Thailand have become widespread. Even if you are willing to pay highly inflated prices to fill your your vehicle most stations are out of gas and diesel. Those with all-electric vehicles are happy that they own one. One plus is this should cut down on air pollution.

8 minutes ago, zzaa09 said:

Adding that the Iranians haven't even begun to use their highly developed hypersonic arms [which number in the thousands].....

What kind of infrastructure is required to launch them?

10 minutes ago, Slowhand225 said:

Maybe Thailand should have other sources for that ? Several other countries would be happy to sell it to them.

Doesn't Thailand have its own oil rigs in the gulf? Probably won't cover any shortfall completely, but at least extend their supplies.

2 hours ago, phetphet said:

Doesn't Thailand have its own oil rigs in the gulf? Probably won't cover any shortfall completely, but at least extend their supplies.

Thailand produces about 31% of the oil it consumes. www.worldometers.info/oil/thailand/oil

5 hours ago, Hawaiian said:

Fuel shortages in Thailand have become widespread. Even if you are willing to pay highly inflated prices to fill your your vehicle most stations are out of gas and diesel. Those with all-electric vehicles are happy that they own one. One plus is this should cut down on air pollution.

Maybe where ever you are, nothing widespread about it here.
Oh, and the dollar is back up over the baht so thats a win

5 hours ago, phetphet said:

Doesn't Thailand have its own oil rigs in the gulf? Probably won't cover any shortfall completely, but at least extend their supplies.

They do and they have two refineries, what they don't have is enough oil so they'll need to import it.

it'd be cheaper and better just to import the fuel and bypass the refineries.
Same with NG, they have plenty if they had to, they import about 70% of the need.