Weekly Reports: Get updated about Bitumen Market

Weekly Bitumen Report: Bitumen in India Jumps by $55; Asian Bitumen Remains Bullish Despite the Decline in Brent

The most important market development this week was no longer political. From October 1, Indian refiners increased VG30 prices by around $48 per metric ton and VG40 by nearly $55 per metric ton. This follows two previous price increases in September and shows how quickly replacement costs are rising in one of the world’s largest...

Africa Bitumen Market: Prices Are Calmer, but Supply Routes Have Not Normalized Yet

The African bitumen market has become calmer compared with the sharp volatility seen earlier in September, but shipping constraints from the Middle East Gulf continue to influence purchasing decisions across Africa. Market discussions increasingly show buyers distinguishing between a low price on paper and a cargo that can actually be executed and delivered. This is...

Weekly Bitumen Report: Negotiations in New York, Deadlock in the Hormuz Strait: Markets Caught Between Political Hope and Real Shipping Risk

This week, the energy market saw two very different pictures emerging from the Middle East. In New York, the UN General Assembly reopened a path for dialogue between Iran and the United States. Despite the strong tone of his speech, Donald Trump said the two sides were in talks and that he expected an agreement...

East Asia Bitumen Market: Price Gaps Narrow Between Singapore, South Korea and China

Brent crude remained above $100/bbl at the end of the week, while commercial traffic through the Strait of Hormuz stayed at very low levels. Disruptions to Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline have also added pressure to alternative crude export routes in the region. For the East Asian bitumen market, the immediate impact has been higher feedstock,...

Weekly Bitumen Report: Two Chokepoints, One Crisis: Hormuz Strait Unstable as the Red Sea Route Comes Under Pressure

This week, the Middle East energy crisis entered a new phase in which the problem is no longer limited to passage through the Hormuz Strait. Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline, which in recent months had carried a significant share of the country’s crude to the Red Sea port of Yanbu as an alternative to the Hormuz...

Africa Bitumen Market: Higher Costs for Buyers Replacing Their Stocks

Tensions in the Middle East have pushed crude oil and HSFO prices higher. This means African buyers and traders now need to pay more to buy new cargoes and replace their current stocks. However, the impact is not uniform across the region. In West Africa, rainfall continues to weigh on demand. In East Africa, the...

Weekly Bitumen Report: From the Tanker War to Attacks on Saudi Arabia: Brent Breaks Above $100

The Middle East energy crisis can no longer be explained simply as tension in the Hormuz Strait. The United States said it disabled five Iranian tankers after an attempted attack on a U.S. naval vessel, while Iran claimed it retaliated by targeting 10 vessels across the Persian Gulf and Hormuz Strait, the largest wave of...

East Asia Bitumen Market | Oil Back Above $96; Supply Tightens, but Buyers Are Still Not Chasing the Market

The US-Iran conflict intensified again toward the end of the week, pushing Brent crude to around $93/bbl in the latest trading sessions. At the same time, commercial traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains significantly below normal levels, while reports of a recent attack on an Iranian tanker near Kharg Island have once again increased...

Weekly Bitumen Report: Tensions Rise Again as Renewed U.S. Strikes on Iran Push Brent Back Toward $95

It took less than a week for the energy market outlook to change again. Brent crude was below $90 last Friday, while traders were still considering the possibility of progress in negotiations to increase shipping traffic through the Hormuz Strait. However, renewed U.S. strikes on targets in Iran and Iran’s response across the region erased...

Africa’s Bitumen Market Shows Mixed Trends: Cheaper in the West, Tighter in the East

The deadlock between Iran and the United States over the Strait of Hormuz continues to keep direct sourcing from the Persian Gulf under pressure, with shipping, payment and scheduling constraints still affecting trade. At the same time, a significant decline in crude and Mediterranean HSFO over the past week has lowered replacement costs in West...