Overview
- Attacks and shipping limits through the Strait of Hormuz have choked Middle East oil and petrochemical flows, keeping Brent crude around triple‑digit prices and starving global plastic supply.
- U.S. chemical producers that run on cheap natural gas have ramped output and raised prices, with Dow lifting April polyethylene by 30 cents per pound for a material used in bottles, bags, and food packaging.
- Resin costs for buyers have jumped from about 45 cents to 85 cents per pound, forcing packaging makers to weigh force‑majeure claims and pushing some consumer‑goods firms to warn that price hikes will reach shoppers.
- Economists warn the shock could last for months as damaged Gulf refineries, ports, and plants are repaired, with analysts flagging eight to nine months to normalize and the IMF preparing lower growth and higher inflation forecasts.
- Shares of Dow and LyondellBasell have surged this year on fatter margins, though analysts say the edge could narrow as more global plants switch to ethane feedstock and U.S. ethane exports rise.