Word: pricing
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...face of a global credit crunch and troubles in the U.S. India, in particular, was supposed to weather a downturn relatively well because its economy depends largely on domestic consumption rather than massive exports as does China's. But there's nowhere to hide from higher oil prices, and several factors make the crunch particularly painful in Asia. The vast majority of countries in the region are net importers of oil. Only Malaysia and Vietnam are able to produce enough crude to be net sellers. In addition, several Asian governments for years have spent billions of dollars subsidizing fuel costs...
...regardless of the intentions of politicians, subsidies and price controls tend to produce unintended consequences. They distort normal consumption patterns and subvert the law of supply and demand. When oil supplies are low and crude prices rise, consumption falls, bringing prices back down as demand and supply balance out. But if consumers are insulated from the market, paying an artificially low price for fuel, they tend to use as much or even more - which strains supplies further and forces oil prices even higher...
...markets is a luxury that governments increasingly cannot afford. The Indian government spent almost $9 billion last year on fuel subsidies, adding to the country's budget deficit. State-run gasoline retailers have been losing billions of dollars as well because they are forced to sell to consumers at prices set by New Delhi. When the three largest state-owned oil companies warned recently that they would soon run out of money to import oil, the government finally raised price caps...
...Since June 4, gasoline is up by 11%, diesel by 10% and LPG by 17%. The price of kerosene, the most widely used cooking fuel, was left unchanged, but the other increases will push up India's inflation rate, which at 8.24% is already at a four-year high. Public anger is growing. India's leftist parties called for a week of protests after Singh's TV announcement. The states of West Bengal, Tripura and Kerala saw general strikes that emptied the streets. Slogan-shouting housewives marched through New Delhi, while in Mumbai protestors rode bullock carts to show that...
...Despite the dose of economic realism that many governments are finally swallowing, there is one Asian country that has resisted any major easing of price controls. China has raised the retail price of diesel and gasoline by just 9% since January 2007. (Over the same period, the price in the U.S. has jumped 77%.) Observers say China will probably stand pat at the pump until after the Beijing Olympic Games in August. That could keep Chinese happily burning the midnight oil - and keep global oil prices high, since growing demand from China has contributed significantly to crude's price...