South Africa Ramps Up Fuel Imports From US as War Jolts Trade

South Africa is boosting oil-product imports from the US to help replace lost supplies from the Middle East, in another example of how the conflict is reshaping trade and threatening higher costs for consumers.

Before the war, Africa’s top oil products importer sourced the bulk of its diesel, petrol and jet fuel from Gulf states — namely Oman, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. But with flows through the key Strait of Hormuz choked off and oil prices now much higher, the nation has been forced to turn elsewhere.