Yes, even that fancy water in a plastic bottle you grab after work as an affordable treat is expected to get more expensive this month.
Experts have warned that spiking oil prices might not just make things more expensive not just at the gas pump but in other places as well. For example, the convenience store aisle where you find plastic-bottled drinks like water, sports drinks, juice and soda.
According to Newsweek, Patrick Penfield said we should expect “at least a 5% increase on plastic bottled drinks in general for the month of April,” as conflict in the Middle East continues.
President Donald Trump announced that the U.S. had attacked Iran alongside Israel in late February and has said that the operation is intended to be short. When the first strikes were launched, average national per-gallon gas prices in the U.S. were under $3. This week, they shot past $4 and are climbing higher.
Crude oil prices also surged past $111 per barrel this week as the Strait of Hormuz along the Iranian coast remains blocked and fighting continues. Audacy reported Thursday that sources claim the Trump administration is planning for the “nightmare” scenario of the per-barrel prices reaching $150 or $200. In the latter scenario, prices at the gas pump in the U.S. could creep close to $7 per gallon.
“Analysts warn higher energy costs tend to feed quickly into plastic production – raising the risk that bottled water prices will rise for U.S. consumers,” said Newsweek. “Nearly nine in 10 Americans buy bottled water, and almost one in five rely on it exclusively, according to 2024 industry data.”
Research from the Political Economy Research Institute at the University of Massachusetts Amherst indicates that the U.S. residents each bought 214 plastic water bottles in a year on average as of 2018. Environmental experts have warned about the dangers of excessive use of single-use plastic, including microplastics pollution. Still, as Newsweek noted, many rely on these products.
Kenneth Gillingham, a professor of economics at Yale University, explained to Newsweek that plastic are closely tied to energy markets since a key component of the material is derived from ethane, comes from natural gas. As we get closer to the “nightmare” crude oil price hike scenario, Penfield warns that prices could climb even higher at the register.
“If we continue to see oil prices climb to $125 to $150 a barrel, it could double to 10% in May and if oil reaches $200 a barrel, we will see a price increase of 25% to 30%,” he said. Newsweek noted that drinking water prices in India have already increased by 11%.
Much of the oil that was in transit when the war started has already reached its destinations, so prices are already expected to get higher in the near future. Experts have also warned that increased fuel costs could also lead to increased food costs, meaning that bottled water might not be the only thing more expensive during your next trip to the supermarket.
