From Asia to Europe, governments are urgently implementing a wide range of measures, from subsidies for fuels and price caps to the release of strategic reserves, to protect consumers from the surge in energy and food prices caused by the conflicts involving the United States, Israel, and Iran.
The escalation of tensions has paralyzed 20% of global crude oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies from the Middle East. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), this is the largest disruption to energy supplies in history.
At the close of markets at the end of last week, Brent rose by $2.68 (2.67%) to $103.14 a barrel, a rise of more than 40% since the start of the conflict between the United States, Israel and Iran in late February 2026.
JPMorgan Chase estimates that the main current challenge is to know how long importing countries will be able to maintain their supplies before shortages worsen. In South Korea, the government plans to distribute more energy vouchers to vulnerable households and is preparing emergency plans to increase electricity production from nuclear and coal if Middle East LNG supplies continue to be disrupted.
In India, authorities are urging the population not to stockpile liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and are encouraging the use of natural gas delivered via pipelines to ease supply tensions.
Governments are also taking drastic measures to prevent energy costs from fueling higher inflation in food. In Egypt, the world’s largest wheat importer, authorities have capped the price of bread in private bakeries to stabilize this essential staple. Meanwhile, China decided to draw on its national fertilizer reserves just ahead of the spring planting season to stabilize prices and guarantee farmers’ supplies.
In many regions, governments are directly intervening in market regulation to reduce the cost of electricity and water for citizens. The Philippines is considering revising its electricity tariffs and increasing power generation from coal. In Europe, as gas reference prices in the Netherlands are currently about 50% higher than before the conflict, the European Commission is drafting guidance to ease the regulation of gas imports in order to accelerate the use of alternative supply sources.
