Weekly Oil Report: A Look At 2023 for Commodities

2023 was not the year of oil. On the last day of the year, Brent oil closed at $77.04 and WTI settled around $71.29. Watch crude technical analysis and comment your ideas:

Brent's highest record was roughly $ 100 and couldn’t even touch 2022’s records. 71 dollars withstand the price while being targeted several times. Most of the year passed with moving sideways of 89 to 71 and it finally got closed below the first support of quarterly pivot point. With the current demand, we might see 75 and lower for Brent again in case of unchanged fundamentals.

Gold, though, recorded the highest rate in history in December 2023. The new record hints at a general bearish sentiment against the global economy; therefore, markets foresee the occurrence of a belated recession in 2024. Economic fear is growing in several countries and people look up to central banks decisions.

Next to the economy, Increasing Geopolitical tensions added up to the market movers. Two wars, one in Ukraine and one in Gaza, complicated things in the Middle East with expanding fears.

Demand also surprised many since it was expected to increase in China. However, the new reports are very negative about the country's future demand and economy.

Bitumen markets bore lots of fluctuation along with crude. Iran’s minimum and maximum bitumen prices experienced a difference of 100 dollars during the year. Other countries had a similar volatility. For a long period, petroleum products had a stagnant market in 2023. Closure of Red Sea and shipping disorders were the last shots. Accordingly, India may decrease bitumen rates by $20 on 1st January. Meanwhile, Asian producers are looking forward to an improvement after India’s election.

If you need bitumen, contact us for the exact price.

Location	Price (USD)
Iran (bulk) - BND FOB	275 - 280
Singapore Bulk	450 - 455
South Korea Bulk	380 - 385
Bahrain Bulk	400 - 405

This article was prepared by Mahnaz Golmohammadian, the export manager of Infinity Galaxy (www.infinitygalaxy.org).