The war with Iran is driving up more than gasoline prices. It is beginning to hit semiconductors, medical imaging, backyard gardens and even children’s party balloons.
While much of the world is focused on how Iran’s essential closure of the Strait of Hormuz is damaging global energy markets, other key industries risk getting hit by similar price inflation. That’s because Hormuz is also a major shipping route for helium and fertilizer, which both affect a wide sector of the economy and are now experiencing price spikes as ships bottleneck on both sides of the strait.
“The longer it goes on, the more serious it’s going to get,” said Rich Gottwald, CEO of the Compressed Gas Association.
The expected price increases come as the Trump administration attempts to assuage voters’ concerns over cost-of-living, and Republicans worry that the war’s ripple effects will hamstring their prospects in November.
