About 50 miles away from Cambodia’s capital in the farming province of Kampong Speu, Vuth Dara has laid off two of his five workers, pulled his children out of English classes and swapped an electric stove for charcoal after soaring fuel costs slashed demand for the ice he sells to local restaurants.

The cost of gasoline in the Southeast Asian nation climbed more than 40% after U.S. strikes on Iran in February disrupted energy supplies through the Strait of Hormuz. Prices have eased slightly since a short-lived ceasefire, but higher transport and operating costs continue to squeeze households and small businesses, raising the risk of longer-term economic damage.

Now, any resumption of hostilities risks another surge in prices Cambodians like Dara can ill afford.