Weekly Bitumen Report: Shadow of Recession over the Bitumen Market

The 78th day of Russia-Ukraine war ended with conditions threatening Finland after it expressed its interest in joining NATO.

During these 78 days and huge losses to both countries and the global economy; US inflation is estimated at around 8.5% and Indian inflation between 6.95% to 7.5%.

This unprecedented inflation and the fact that crude oil prices have remained stable above $100 have led to an unprecedented recession for the whole world.

Over the last week, crude oil prices have reached a minimum of $104 and a maximum of $112, and at the time of preparing this report, the crude oil price was approximately $108, even OPEC’s decision to increase oil supply; it had little effect on price reductions.

Shipping companies that have repeatedly announced the GRI but are currently refusing to increase it, perhaps because the current export situation has also overshadowed the shipping situation.

Singapore bitumen prices have fluctuated approximately $545 to $560; although supply and demand were limited, Singapore does not seem willing to cut bitumen prices further at this time.

Bahrain also did not change its bitumen price, and news from India indicates that the price has stabilized or decreased slightly.

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Also increase the equity of the US dollar against different currencies, including the Indian rupee; make the conditions complicated for importers in different countries.

During the last week, there has been no serious competition between the bitumen manufacturers for VB buying in Iran, which is another sign of inflationary stagnation.

Over the last week, the dollar has reached its highest level against the Rial in the past few months, and contradictory news from the JCPOA has added to the doubts.

Generally, the current market conditions are facing serious ambiguity and instability, which were clearly evident among the participants at the AMEA bitumen conference, which ended today, 12th May 2022.

The complexity of the situation, along with the proximity to the Monsoon, seems to have made things difficult for all exporters and importers, and a clear picture of what is to come can not be imagined.

However, the total bitumen production in India during the first three months of 2022 was about 1.7 million tonnes and bitumen consumption was approximately 2.6 million tonnes, India met the rest of its needs through imports.

In the future, if the Thirteenth Five-Year Plan of India is published, we can see that there has probably been a decline.

This article was prepared by Razieh Gilani, the sales manager of Infinity Galaxy (www.infinitygalaxy.org).