Elevated oil prices are weighing on the economies of net energy importers, which are predominantly located in Asia. This month’s equity outflows have surpassed the pandemic-driven exodus of March 2020, and are more than double the losses seen in June 2022 in the wake of the Ukraine war.
(March 26): Global investors are on track to withdraw a record amount from Asian emerging-market equities excluding China, as surging oil prices due to the Middle East conflict clouds the region’s outlook.
Foreigners have sold about US$52 billion ($66.68 billion) of Asian stocks since the war in Iran began, putting the region on track for its biggest monthly outflow in Bloomberg-compiled data going back to 2009. Oil import-reliant markets such as Taiwan, South Korea and India led the selling.
