
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. Read more: Oil Crunch Threatens South Korea’s Garbage Bag, Ramen Supply (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-03-24/oil-crunch-threatens-south-korea-s-garbage-bag-ramen-supply?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=podcast&utm_campaign=odd_lots&utm_content=article) Israel Says War Isn’t Ending Even as Trump Touts Peace Talks (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-03-24/iran-strikes-persist-even-as-trump-claims-talks-to-end-conflict?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=podcast&utm_campaign=odd_lots&utm_content=article) Only Bloomberg - Business News, Stock Markets, Finance, Breaking & World News (http://bloomberg.com/) subscribers can get the Odd Lots newsletter in their inbox each week, plus unlimited access to the site and app. Subscribe at bloomberg.com/subscriptions/oddlots (https://www.bloomberg.com/subscriptions/oddlots?in_source=oddlotspodcast) Subscribe to the Odd Lots Newsletter (http://bloomberg.com/subscriptions/oddlots) Join the conversation: discord.gg/oddlots (https://discord.gg/oddlots) Bloomberg's Joe Weisenthal and Tracy Alloway analyze the weird patterns, the complex issues and the newest market crazes. Join the conversation every Monday and Thursday for interviews with the most interesting minds in finance, economics and markets. Subscribe to Bloomberg Podcasts: https://bit.ly/BloombergPodcasts Check out more Odd Lots: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLe4PRejZgr0MuA6M0zkZyy-99-qc87wKV Get the Odd Lots newsletter via https://www.bloomberg.com/account/newsletters/oddlots And for all things Odd Lots, visit https://www.bloomberg.com/oddlots Visit our other YouTube channels: Bloomberg Television: https://www.youtube.com/@markets Bloomberg Originals: https://www.youtube.com/bloomberg Quicktake: https://www.youtube.com/@BloombergQuicktake #Bloomberg #Podcast #OddLots Visit us: https://www.bloomberg.com/podcasts Follow Bloomberg Podcasts on Twitter: https://twitter.com/podcasts For coverage on news, markets and more: http://www.bloomberg.com/video

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