Brent Crude Blasts Past $100; India Freezes Pump Prices as Pakistan Imposes Rs22 Jump in Three Days

Energy shocks repeat: the 1973 Arab oil embargo vaulted prices 300% in months, and July 2008 saw Brent touch $147/bbl before crashing; both episodes exposed how chokepoints and conflicts in the Gulf reverberate through import-dependent economies. Today’s US–Iran fight again weaponises Strait-of-Hormuz flows, but the split responses—India shielding voters via quasi-price controls, Pakistan passing costs through instantly—mirror long-running fiscal versus inflation trade-offs seen across South Asia since subsidies were introduced in the 1990s. Over the coming century, such moments test the resilience of petro-importers until either electrification or alternative suppliers dilute West Asian leverage. If crude stays above $100 for just a quarter, India’s under-recoveries could echo the $30 bn bill of FY2013 and Pakistan’s inflation could revisit the 25% spike of 2022; if it doesn’t, the episode will register as another short-lived flare in the slow, uneven transition away from oil dependence.