Weekly Bitumen Report: Global Election Season and Uptrend of Bitumen and Crude Oil

The first US presidential debate was held and many believe that Trump was its winner. Later, the Democratic pressure on Biden increased to drop out of the election.

Simultaneously, the run-off presidential election of Iran will be held on July, 5. The economic and political plans of both candidates are absolutely against each other and the winner will determine Iran’s policies for the next 4 years.

In France, the far-right party won the parliament election in the first round which is a dangerous sign of extremism in Europe.

U.K. snap election is being held that will determine the political future of England.

On the other hand, the Shanghai Corporation Organization Summit was held in Kazakhstan and the political, economic, and security issues of this block was investigated.

In energy world, the number of US drilling rigs reached its lowest level since December 2023, it was reported by Baker Hughes, the American energy company. Generally, the number of oil and gas rigs is the initial sign of future production. at the same time, US Senate probes into the collusion between US oil companies and OPEC. More than 17 oil companies are accused of the collusion with OPEC to prevent the fall in oil prices.

On the other hand, Asian commercial sources report the possibility of the reduction in official selling prices of crude oil of Saudi Arabia to Asian customers in August. This potential reduction indicates the pressure that the world is facing in terms of slowing growth.

On July 4, Brent crude oil reached over 85 dollars. In the meantime, Singapore’s CST180 closed at 515 USD. Singapore and South Korea’s bitumen prices remained unchanged at 460 and 410 USD, respectively.

In Bahrain, the bitumen price was fixed at 450 USD and Europe observed the range of 460-540 USD.

On July 1, bitumen price in India increased 8.5 USD which is almost a unique rise in the monsoon season.

After several months, Iran’s market finally observed a record of more than 60K vacuum bottom sales and purchase, and the average competition was around 4% among the manufacturers.

Despite the ongoing logistical challenges on export, it seems that after months, the price of bitumen in Iran is increasing.

Same as in previous weeks, Infinity Galaxy recommends the activists of the field to make their business decisions after having a comprehensive investigation of the market situation.

This article was written by Razieh Gilani, the export manager of Infinity Galaxy.