Asia runs on imported energy and if that flow even looks shaky, investors do not stick around to debate it, they pull first and ask questions later. This is how pressure shows up before the real economic damage hits.
Investors from overseas have sold -$52 billion of Asian emerging-market equities excluding China so far in March, the biggest monthly withdrawal on record.
This exceeds the previous full-month record set during the 2020 pandemic by 49% and the Russia-Ukraine war June 2022 outflow by +148%.
The biggest withdrawals were posted in Taiwan, South Korea, and India, countries that are most dependent on oil imports.
This comes as Asian economies account for ~80% of crude demand flowing through the Strait of Hormuz.
Asia is taking the hardest hit from the Iran War.
h/t RobertBartus