Insurance premiums have already blown out because of the increased risks and,for those diverting around the Cape of Good Hope,the extra time and distance. War-risk premiums for those braving the Red Sea route have leapt almost 1000 per cent.

With the Suez Canal handling more than 20 per cent of the world’s container traffic,12 per cent or so of the seaborne oil trade and around 8 per cent of the international shipments of liquified natural gas,that will have significant implications for global supply chains.

It is helpful that,after the severe disruption generated by the pandemic that played such a significant role in soaring inflation rates in major economies,supply chains had reverted to pre-pandemic levels of functioning and costs.

There will,however,be an increase in shipping costs,an increased demand for oil because of the longer routes,and disruptions to the flow of goods because of the additional time required to move them from their points of origin to their destinations.

The question marks over the severity and duration of the impact of the Houthis’ attacks on the Suez Canal and the potential for a wider regional conflict will have a particular influence on oil and gas prices.

The question marks over the Houthis’ attacks and the potential for a wider regional conflict will have a particular influence on oil and gas prices.

The price of oil has risen – it is up about $US6 a barrel to around $US79.50 a barrel in the past week (albeit way below the near-$US100-a-barrel prices experienced in late September) – and gas prices in Europe spiked after BP announced it was pausing all its Red Sea shipments.

Some Middle Eastern producers ship oil through the Red Sea and Russian oil shipments to Asia via the Suez have rocketed since Europe,formerly its largest energy market,sanctioned Russian oil and gas in response to the invasion of Ukraine.

Russia has recently started opening up an Arctic route to China,aided by the changing environment in the ice-prone region but,to date,the volumes shipped have been experimental and modest.

Because of its response to the war in Ukraine,Europe is now highly reliant on LNG from the Middle East and Asian markets to replace its former dependence on Russian pipeline gas. It faces delays and significantly increased energy costs if the threats to safe passage to and through the Suez are protracted.

If energy and transport costs rise and supply is disrupted as a consequence of the Houthis’ actions,there will be inflationary effects,albeit at this stage probably quite modest ones.

The caveats to that conclusion,of course,are whether the US-led response,a multinational naval taskforce that will try to protect ships in the Red Sea,is successful and whether that intervention serves to draw Iran more directly into the conflict.

The last time the Suez traffic was affected significantly was in March 2021,when the Ever Given,one of the world’s largest container ships,somehow wedged itself across the canal and caused a very lengthy queue of ships either stuck in the canal or waiting to enter it.

The blockage was cleared within a week but added to the existing supply chain issues caused by the pandemic.

Today,in a slowing global economy with more normal supply chains and shipping volumes,there will be time and costs added by the re-routing of ships and their cargoes but the shortages of labour,goods and ships experienced during the pandemic that exacerbated the economic effects aren’t present.

That suggests the impacts of the effective closure of the Red Sea and Suez Canal to much of the world’s shipping are probably containable. But in such a volatile region,and in such volatile and unpredictable circumstances,it’s impossible to reach definitive conclusions.

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