Brent crude held above $100 a barrel on September 10 as tanker attacks and disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz kept supply fears elevated. The immediate market concern is not only the loss of individual cargoes but the possibility that shipping, insurance and freight costs remain impaired even when physical supply is still available.
For India, the transmission channel is unusually direct. Higher crude prices can widen the import bill, put pressure on the current account and the rupee, and eventually feed into fuel, transport and broader inflation. The fiscal effect depends on how much of the shock is absorbed through taxes, subsidies or retail prices.
The Strait of Hormuz is central to this story because a large share of global oil and LNG trade passes through the narrow waterway. A disruption there can affect countries far beyond the Gulf, which is why the episode is simultaneously an energy-security, macroeconomic and geopolitical issue.