Ground crew fueling an aircraft at Philadelphia International Airport, November 28, 2009. File photo illustrating jet-fuel operations, not an Asian airline in the current crisis. Jelson25 / Wikimedia Commons, public domain. Display crop.
By E.K.K
Brent crude fell about 1% to $115.48 a barrel in early Asian trading on October 26, after gaining 6.2% the previous week. For companies buying their next fuel delivery, the decline does not undo that increase. Their invoices may also bear little resemblance to the crude quotation in the headlines.
The figure is an intraday price, not the day's close. A business's actual bill depends on the product it buys, when it agreed the price and the currency in which it pays.
Jet fuel has its own bill
Jet fuel is a refined product. When processing and deliveries run smoothly, cheaper crude can feed through more readily. If refining capacity or supply is constrained, airlines can still face expensive fuel.
IATA's 2026 outlook describes hedging as a cushion against short-term volatility, not a cure for prolonged high prices. These contracts fix or limit part of a company's purchasing cost. They expire and may cover only a portion of consumption.
Two airlines buying the same product can therefore feel the shock at different times. One may still benefit from an earlier contract while the other needs to buy at current prices. When older protection expires, the next purchase brings the market back into the calculation.
Fares cannot simply follow each day's oil move. An airline generally cannot recover additional costs retrospectively from a passenger who has already bought a ticket. What it can charge for remaining seats depends on competition and demand.
An order already signed
Transport operators and manufacturers face a similar timing problem. A contract allowing fuel-surcharge adjustments provides a way to recover some costs. A fixed-price agreement may leave the supplier absorbing them.
A factory could pay more for materials and freight while remaining bound by a price previously offered to its customer. Margins then take the first hit. Higher charges may reach customers only when the next order is negotiated.
Currencies create another difference. All else equal, depreciation raises the domestic cost of dollar-priced fuel, while appreciation offsets part of an increase. The same oil quotation need not produce the same burden across Asia.
Getting the shipment matters too
An IEA factsheet published in February puts Asia's share of oil shipped through Hormuz in 2025 at roughly 80%. That pre-crisis baseline explains the region's exposure to the route.
Uncertain delivery schedules can also encourage earlier orders and larger stocks. Consider a factory increasing its materials reserve from one month to two: even without another unit-price increase, it would need more cash for purchases. That illustrates a possible financing burden, not a claim that all factories have made that change.
Households feel the effect at a pace shaped by domestic pricing and subsidies. Public support can temporarily stabilize pump prices while increasing government expenditure. Faster adjustment to import costs can bring the pressure to commuters and goods deliveries sooner.
Corporate fuel spending, revised freight surcharges and new purchasing contracts will show more than a single trading session. A sustained crude decline, cheaper refined products and dependable deliveries would give buyers firmer grounds to cut next quarter's budget.
Sources
Reuters: October 26 early Asian market quotation
IATA: Global Outlook for Air Transport, June 2026
IEA: Strait of Hormuz factsheet, February 2026, using 2025 trade data