Global Demand Destruction: Subsidies, Empty Gas Stations, Rationing, Flight Cancelations, Export Limits, Price Controls
In the past two weeks we have discussed demand destruction as a result of soaring oil prices ( and and
We're watching governments systematically dismantle market mechanisms—and calling it crisis management. What we're actually witnessing is the collapse of the post-1990s consensus that markets self-correct. The subsidy spiral is the tell. When fuel prices spike, governments panic-subsidize to avoid riots. This destroys price signals, incentivizes consumption they claim to want reduced, and bleeds state budgets. Empty gas stations aren't accidents—they're the predictable outcome of price controls meeting real scarcity. Venezuela didn't invent this playbook; every empire in decline has run it. Export limits are explicit demand destruction masquerading as resource protection. India, Indonesia, Argentina—they're choosing short-term domestic political survival over long-term currency stability and trade relationships. This accelerates dedollarization whether policymakers admit it or not. The real story: energy shocks are exposing which governments can actually govern and which are just managing decline through rationing. Flight cancellations, empty shelves, rationing—these aren't temporary friction. They're the architecture of a multipolar world where energy leverage matters more than GDP rankings. The West still thinks this is cyclical. It's structural.
What the Documents Show
European jet fuel trades around $1713/tonne, up 114% since the war began. Singapore fuel is up around 140%. Both Vietnam Airlines and Air New Zealand have had to cancel flights due to limited fuel supply. Panic buying prompts PM to reassure Australians over fuel supply ( bbc ) Australia will halve its fuel excise for three months from Wednesday after prices soared to a record last week as the impact of the Iran war spreads. Meanwhile, the average price of a liter of diesel jumped above A$2.82 last week, while petrol was almost A$2.40, both the highest in at least 20 years.
Follow the Money
The average price in rural regions like the Northern Territory was even higher, a blow to farmers and long-distance transport firms. The temporary cut would reduce the price of petrol and diesel by about 26 Australian cents ($0.18) per liter, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said at a press conference Monday in Canberra. “The longer this war goes on, the worse the impacts will be,” he said. The government will also reduce the heavy road user charge for the next three months, and delay the next planned increased in that charge by six months. The measures are expected to cost about A$2.55 billion and to lower CPI by 0.5 ppt, Treasurer Jim Chalmers said. Albanese has sought to reassure Australians that the country's fuel supply remains "secure" as prices soar and following reports of panic buying and petrol stations running dry since the start of the Iran war.
What Else We Know
There have been reports of truck drivers and other motorists stranded, while businesses say rising costs are affecting their viability. The government says demand and distribution issues have caused shortages rather than supply, which it says remains at the same level as before the war began. In Cairns, Queensland, the BBC found a small independent garage that tells a pretty typical story in Australia. It has run out of unleaded petrol and the price of diesel is 85% higher than it was before the war in Iran started. In New South Wales, Australia's most populous state, one in seven retailers say they are out of at least one type of fuel. The price of diesel in Sydney has meanwhile risen to the 314.5 cents a litre as of Thursday, according to the National Roads and Motorists' Association (NRMA), its highest ever price.
Primary Sources
- Source: ZeroHedge
- Category: Global Power
- Cross-reference independently — don't take our word for it.
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