Oil price hike comes at a bad time for most of Asia already squeezed by US-China trade war

JAKARTA - Almost a year ago, when crude oil prices were hovering around US$80 a barrel, the currencies of big emerging markets took a swan dive following a blow-out in their balance of payments. Now as regional economies slow, owing to a protracted trade war between China and the US, they face a double whammy: slower exports plus more expensive oil.

"We saw last year that emerging markets began to stutter at $80 oil," said Henning Gloystein, business risk advisory Eurasia Group's Singapore based energy analyst.