Oil and Bitumen Highlights: Quick Drop of Commodities
Bitumen Report – October 18, 2022
Crude oil fell by over 6% during the week. But Bitumen surprisingly increased or stayed steady.
Brent closed at $91.62 and WTI settled at $85.60 on Friday, 14 October.
The world situation is becoming more and more complicated every day.
UK prime minister, Liz Truss, demoted her new Treasury chief due to his mini-budget and dropped the tax cut to recover the Pound value.
The US economic reports on Thursday prepared the market to see a 75-basis point increase in interest rates in the next Fed meeting.
According to IEA, world oil demand is slowing down due to a bad economy and OPEC+ cuts. “With unrelenting inflationary pressures and interest rate hikes taking their toll, higher oil prices may prove the tipping point for a global economy already on the brink of recession.” Said the IEA.
China’s economic slowdown and lower demand continue. The country seems to be sticking with zero Covid policy for the first half of 2023.
Gold had one of the biggest losses since August. Oil, metals and many other commodities are also falling.
143 countries opposed Russia annexing 4 states of Ukraine. The war obscurity has confused the world and is adding up to the economic complexity.
Iran had another hot competition on the vacuum bottom by 48% on the base price keeping bitumen above $410 FOB Bandar Abbas.
If no unprecedented event happens, India’s market can have new movements considering the end of the monsoon and the $15 increase on October 16.
In Singapore and South Korea, prices have been almost unchanged during crude’s recent growth and fall. Bahrain also kept bitumen prices steady for the last 3 weeks.
