system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
How much economic damage is being done by the blockage of the Suez?
gpt
It depends on how long it will take to clear the blockage.

Shipping firms generally have a few days allotted for delays. If they clear the ship – or just move it out of the way – in a few days, this will be minimal. If they accidentally blocked off the canal just like during the Six Day War, then there might be goods and intermediate product shortages in Europe (delays in oil shipments being one of the larger impacts).

I don't know enough about cross-Suez trade to speculate further than that, but given that it would considerably delay about 10 per cent of global trade, the impacts are not probably minimal. That said, it is not as if Suez has a monopoly on Europe-Asia shipping: ships currently blocked can detour around Africa for a longer and more fuel-intensive journey.