The supply shocks stemming from the Iran war will expand beyond just fuel markets — to the benefit of China and Russia, analysts said.
The conflict is imperiling the supply chain for petrochemicals, which are derived from fossil fuels and serve as the building blocks for plastics, an expert told Bloomberg’s Odd Lots podcast.
A longer war will strengthen Beijing and Moscow’s “geopolitical leverage across global supply chains,” particularly in petrochemicals as well as fertilizers — another vital commodity impacted by the Strait of Hormuz closure — given the countries’ insulation from disruption in those sectors, Atlantic Council experts wrote.
Russia will aim “to position itself as an indispensable supplier that saved the world from starvation” through its fertilizer exports, a Carnegie fellow argued.