Americans paid 67 cents more per gallon of gasoline than they did one month ago, AAA reported on March 25, noting the national average stood at $4.243 per gallon of regular unleaded. The gas pump is only one place of many where people worldwide will feel the tug on their wallets as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine fuels a climb in price for not only petroleum but many products produced with hydrocarbons. Oil prices for many everyday products will increase as a result.
“Oil trickles down to everything,” Josh Lee, the financial chief for chemical distributor CJ Chemicals LLC in Brighton, Michigan, told the Wall Street Journal (WSJ).
While prices have decreased a little from mid-March numbers, there is always a chance they could reach even higher levels than before. An article published by Business Insider noted, “Some experts estimate oil could hit $200 a barrel this year as sanctions on Russian oil create a permanent hole in the market that’s likely to send shockwaves through entire economies in unexpected ways.”
As companies contend with lingering supply chain issues, the ramifications of a global pandemic and new sanctions on Russian oil, the higher overall oil prices to produce the items will eventually make their way to the consumers who buy them.
Consumers may overlook rising costs in products like waterproofing materials unless they are in the market to purchase items requiring it. However, most people will experience increased prices for more common household goods like cosmetics and plastic containers.
According to an article published by NBC News, about 40% of global oil consumption can be found in those types of household products.
“Petroleum is at the root of so many different products, from makeup to plastic bags to fertilizer,” Patrick DeHaan, the head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy.com, said in the NBC article. “You can’t escape the use of oil.”
Petrochemicals, which come from oil and natural gas, are used to make over 6,000 everyday products and technological devices, according to the Department of Energy. Those products include deodorant, cell phones, clothing, trash bags, plastic toys, computer keyboards, and as the nation approaches months of warmer weather, swimming pools.
In addition to the items themselves, higher prices will also affect some types of packaging. Grocery shoppers will see price increases for things like eggs housed in plastic cartons and milk supplied in plastic jugs.
The WSJ article reports that the higher prices are affecting companies like western Japan’s Tamashima Hoso, a producer of plastic containers used for ready-to-eat items in grocery and convenience stores.
In the article, Shigeru Aoki, a company executive, said the smaller outfit did not account for a spike in oil prices when they agreed to customary increases before Russia invaded Ukraine.
“This is said to be a war between Ukraine and Russia, but this is a war for us as well,” Aoki said in the article.
The Department of Energy also reports that petrochemicals are needed to produce a host of health-related items, including vitamin capsules, eyeglasses, antiseptics, and denture adhesives.
“Nearly all pharmaceutical raw materials and reagents are petrochemical-based. Consider the average medicine cabinet: Burn ointment, cold and allergy pills, gummy vitamins, adhesive bandages — even some condoms — are made with oil,” the NBC article states.
