Weekly Bitumen Report: Continuation of Price Soar amid Middle East Tension

Antony Blinken, United States Secretary of State, traveled to the Middle East for the eleventh time last year. The purpose of this visit was an attempt to reduce tension in the Middle East, however, the level of geopolitical risks is strongly high.

Israel’s threats against Iran are still going on and the region is worried about a widespread war. On the other hand, Israel’s attacks on Gaza and Lebanon continue.

Russia, which is hosting the BRICS Summit, claimed its diplomatic victory. In this event, President Putin met with the officials of Turkey, India, Iran, Brazil, South Africa, and the Secretary General of the United Nations. This is while Russia’s war against Ukraine continues.

The U.S. election will be held in less than 2 weeks and the candidates attempt to increase their obtained votes in the key states. Many international equations depend on the outcome of the U.S. presidential election.

During the last week, gold prices exceeded $2,700 per ounce due to the rise of tension in the Middle East and recorded the highest level in their history. This situation demonstrates the high level of worry in the world.

The minor fall in crude oil prices within the last week was mainly as a result of an increase in U.S. oil storage levels and concerns about demands in China, it overcame the concerns about tensions in the regions, and crude oil prices were reduced to $72, but it pulled back at $75 again.

The analysts of INJ Institute believe that the oil market is expecting Israel’s response to Iran’s attack and the market conditions have largely been influenced by the risk factors in the Middle East.

On October 24, Brent crude oil reached $75. Singapore’s CST180 closed at $474. Bitumen prices in Singapore and South Korea were recorded at $485 & $ 435, respectively.

In Bahrain, the range of bitumen price is still fixed at $395, and in Europe, the bitumen prices faced a decline to return to the range of $430-500.

Bitumen price in India, which recorded an unprecedented rise of $26 in mid-October, is likely to face another limited increase.

In Iran, bitumen price is following its uptrend under the influence of the Middle East tension, shortage of vacuum bottom, and unprecedented record of the Iran Rial against the US dollar.

The bitumen producers in Iran competed around 17% for vacuum bottom, these frequent competitions show the strong shortage of vacuum bottom and high levels of demand.

To check the latest bitumen prices at different destinations, check the Infinity Galaxy website: https://infinitygalaxy.org/bitumen-price-today/.
This article was prepared by Razieh Gilani, the export manager of Infinity Galaxy.