China’s fuel export ban to further tighten Asia supply

China’s ban on exports of diesel, gasoline and jet fuel is poised to exacerbate fuel shortages and further boost prices for Asian industry and transportation buyers already grappling with tightening supply caused by the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran.

Even before the ban, Asian refiners were scrambling to secure alternative crude shipments while several refineries in the Persian Gulf, many of which ship fuel to Asia, have shut since the war halted shipping via ​the critical Strait of Hormuz route.

China, the world’s top oil importer, last week banned fuel exports until at least the end of March, ‌in an ‌attempt to pre-empt domestic shortages, sources said, curbing exports that last year totalled $22 billion.