The Australian government announced on March 12 that it will temporarily adjust the country's fuel quality standards within the next 60 days, allowing gasoline with higher sulfur content to enter the market in order to increase domestic fuel supply.
In a press release issued that day, Chris Bowen, Australia's Minister for Climate Change and Energy, stated that this measure will redirect some fuel originally intended for export to the domestic market, adding approximately 100 million liters of gasoline supply per month. Bowen noted that this additional supply will be prioritized for regions facing fuel shortages, as well as for the wholesale spot market supporting independent distributors and agricultural harvesting operations.
Many Australian experts and industry insiders have recently indicated that the ongoing conflict in the Middle East has led to rising oil prices, material shortages, and market volatility, impacting Australia's economy and people's livelihoods. Joe Masters, Chief Economist at Barrenjoey Investment Bank in Australia, said that as the pressure from the Middle East conflict on international oil prices and shipping costs continues to increase, Australia will face further intensification of supply shortages and rising prices.
Economists from the Commonwealth Bank of Australia stated on the 12th that due to tensions in the Middle East, the price of Brent crude oil futures in London could surge to $120 to $150 per barrel. Vivek Dhar, a commodity strategist at the bank, pointed out in a report that day that if the military conflict in the Middle East does not end soon, the prices of crude oil and refined products will "rise to unprecedented levels."
On the 11th, the 32 member countries of the International Energy Agency, including Australia, unanimously agreed to release 400 million barrels of strategic petroleum reserves to address the global oil supply shortage caused by the U.S. and Israeli military strikes on Iran.
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