The Petrochemicals Shock That's Already Rippling Through Plastics

Odd Lots

Bloomberg

Business, News, News Commentary, Investing, Business News

4.5 • 2K Ratings

🗓️ 25 March 2026

⏱️ 59 minutes

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Summary

Everyone knows by now that war in Iran is curbing the flow of oil around the world. But oil isn't just a gasoline and jet fuel story, of course. It's also a crucial feedstock for a bunch of petrochemicals, including the building blocks of a variety of plastics. And we're already seeing polyethylene prices start to surge, with some producers in Asia declaring force majeure and curbing their output. So how much of the world's petrochemicals supply is now in danger? And what does it mean for the future of plastics and packaging, which is basically in everything nowadays? On this episode, we're joined by Philip Geurts, chemicals and oil analyst at BloombergNEF, to walk us through the numbers.

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