{"id":50055,"date":"2026-04-04T11:01:53","date_gmt":"2026-04-04T08:01:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thereporterethiopia.com\/?p=50055"},"modified":"2026-04-04T11:01:53","modified_gmt":"2026-04-04T08:01:53","slug":"hormuz-traffic-collapses-by-95pct-triggering-global-oil-shock-un-trade-agency","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thereporterethiopia.com\/50055\/","title":{"rendered":"Hormuz Traffic Collapses by 95pct, Triggering Global Oil Shock: UN Trade Agency"},"content":{"rendered":"

Fuel retail prices jump in response to crisis<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ethiopia is facing mounting economic pressure as a global energy shock triggered by disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz drives up fuel prices, threatens inflation, and strains the country\u2019s already fragile external balance.<\/p>\n

A\u00a0 report released on April 1, 2026 by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) indicates that maritime traffic through the strategic oil corridor has collapsed by 95 percent, falling from an average of 129 ships per day in late February to just six in March.<\/p>\n

The Strait of Hormuz is a critical artery for global energy supply, and its near shutdown has sent crude oil prices sharply higher while increasing the cost of transporting fuel worldwide.<\/p>\n

For Ethiopia, which relies heavily on imported petroleum products, the impact is immediate. Rising global oil prices are translating into higher import costs, placing additional pressure on foreign exchange reserves and widening the country\u2019s trade deficit.<\/p>\n

The federal government has responded by announcing a new round of fuel price adjustments. The cost of a liter of benzene has shot up by 10 Birr to 142.41, while diesel now retails for 151.39 Birr a liter.<\/p>\n

UNCTAD warns that rising oil prices are closely linked to higher inflation, particularly in developing economies. In Ethiopia, where inflationary pressures have remained persistent, higher fuel costs are expected to feed into transport and logistics expenses, food and essential commodity prices, and overall urban cost of living.<\/p>\n

The report also highlights growing financial risks across developing regions, including Africa. Currencies have begun to weaken against the US Dollar, while external borrowing costs are rising. African sovereign bond yields have increased to 7.61 percent, up by 0.64 percentage points since late February.<\/p>\n

For Ethiopia, these trends could further complicate access to external financing, increase the cost of debt servicing, and limit the government\u2019s ability to fund critical imports and development projects.<\/p>\n

Beyond energy markets, the disruption is expected to slow global trade and economic growth. UNCTAD forecasts global GDP growth at 2.6 percent in 2026, with developing economies growing at 4.1 percent. However, the current crisis introduces downside risks, particularly for import-dependent economies.<\/p>\n

For Ethiopia, this may translate into higher costs for imported goods, reduced competitiveness in export markets, and slower overall economic growth.<\/p>\n

The report underscores the vulnerability of developing countries to external shocks, noting that 3.4 billion people live in nations that spend more on debt servicing than on health or education.<\/p>\n

Such structural constraints limit the capacity of governments, including Ethiopia\u2019s, to respond effectively to sudden global crises.<\/p>\n

UNCTAD calls for coordinated international action, including measures to stabilize prices, provide emergency financing, and ease debt burdens for developing economies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Fuel retail prices jump in response to crisis Ethiopia is facing mounting economic pressure as a global energy shock triggered by disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz drives up fuel prices, threatens inflation, and strains the country\u2019s already fragile external balance. A\u00a0 report released on April 1, 2026 by the United Nations Conference on Trade […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":82,"featured_media":50056,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"editor_plus_copied_stylings":"{}","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1960,13],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-50055","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-latest-news-in-ethiopia","8":"category-latest-ethiopian-political-news"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thereporterethiopia.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50055","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thereporterethiopia.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thereporterethiopia.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thereporterethiopia.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/82"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thereporterethiopia.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50055"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.thereporterethiopia.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50055\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thereporterethiopia.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50056"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thereporterethiopia.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50055"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thereporterethiopia.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50055"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thereporterethiopia.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50055"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}