Dental clinics are facing higher costs for gloves, masks and other supplies made from naphtha-derived materials, even as shortages ease following renewed conflict in the Middle East that has disrupted naphtha supplies.
Crude oil prices have plunged to the low $70 range per barrel following the signing of a memorandum aimed at ending fighting between the United States and Iran, but while the immediate risk of an energy crisis appears to have eased, economists warn that price increases for electricity, food and everyday goods may still be about to intensify.
Japan will begin a new system on June 23 to sell paint and thinner directly from manufacturers to construction firms and other businesses, aiming to ease supply bottlenecks and curb price increases as worsening conditions in the Middle East make such materials harder to obtain.
Japan's reliance on Middle Eastern crude oil has left manufacturers exposed to rising costs for plastic containers, ink and other products that use naphtha, but JEPLAN President Masaki Takao is pushing a recycling technology that could reduce the need for petroleum-derived raw materials by turning used plastic back into material close to new.
A rice ball chain based in Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture, is feeling the effects of turmoil in the Middle East through higher costs and supply shortages for packaging film and other materials essential to selling onigiri.
The global oil market could face a major supply surplus in 2027 if the United States and Iran maintain an agreement aimed at ending hostilities, the International Energy Agency said in its monthly report released on June 17.