Australia temporarily relaxes domestic fuel quality standards to cope with supply shortages.

The Australian government announced on the 12th that it will temporarily adjust the country's fuel quality standards in the next 60 days, allowing gasoline with higher sulfur content to enter the market to increase domestic fuel supply. Australian Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen stated in a press release on the same day that this move will redirect some fuel that could have been exported to supply the domestic market, adding approximately 100 million liters of gasoline supply per month. Bowen said that this additional supply will be prioritized for regions facing fuel shortages, as well as to support independent retailers and agricultural harvesting operations in the wholesale spot market. Many Australian experts and industry insiders have recently stated that the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East leading to rising oil prices, shortages of goods, and market fluctuations are impacting the Australian economy and livelihoods. Chief Economist Joe Masters of the Australian investment bank Barenjoey stated that with the increasing pressure from the Middle East conflicts on international oil prices and shipping costs, Australia's impact from supply shortages and rising prices will further escalate. Economists from the Commonwealth Bank of Australia stated on the 12th that due to the tensions in the Middle East, London Brent crude oil futures prices could soar to $120 to $150 per barrel. The bank's commodity strategist Vivek Dhar pointed out in a report on the same day that if the Middle East military conflict does not end quickly, crude oil and refined product prices could "rise to unprecedented levels." On the 11th, the International Energy Agency, consisting of 32 member countries including Australia, unanimously agreed to release 400 million barrels of strategic petroleum reserves to address global oil supply tensions caused by possible US military strikes on Iran.