Dhaka, April 1 -- Bangladesh is no longer facing a routine price adjustment. It is approaching a systemic stress point where supply pressure, public behavior, and weak enforcement capacity are beginning to reinforce each other. Long queues at filling stations are not just a symptom of shortage. They are an early signal of something more serious: a shift from price imbalance to loss of control. And once control begins to slip, recovery becomes far more difficult.

FROM SHORTAGE TO DISORDER: In a fuel-dependent economy, crises rarely remain confined to supply. They spread through behavior. When people believe fuel may become scarce, they change how they act. They buy earlier, buy more, and use faster. Transport operators raise fares preempt...