The U.S.-Israel war with Iran, which entered its seventh day on Friday, threatens to disrupt the shipment of vehicles from Asia to the Middle East, a major export market for Asian automakers.
Fuel oil traders in Asia are struggling to secure alternative supply as the Iran war curtails shipments from key Middle Eastern suppliers through the Strait of Hormuz, prompting them to look to the West for replacement cargoes.
The Asian Development Bank's chief economist said on Friday that if the Middle East conflict and closure of the Strait of Hormuz last only about a month, as some US projections suggest, the impact on growth in developing Asia would be modest, with only a slight and temporary "downward blip" in annual GDP.
A federal judge on Wednesday ordered the US government to begin paying refunds of President Donald Trump's emergency tariffs that the US Supreme Court deemed illegal in late February.
Oil prices erased early losses to trade flat in Asian trading on Friday, remaining on track for a sharp weekly surge as escalating conflict in the Middle East raised concerns over global supply disruptions.
Eurozone economic growth picked up pace in February, with the HCOB Eurozone Composite PMI Output Index rising to 51.9 from 51.3 in January, marking a three-month high.