Weekly Oil Report: Crude Rises as China’s Demand Climbs

The moderate recovery of China led to a light growth of crude and Bitumen market became hopeful for more increase. Brent oil closed at $87.58 and WTI settled at $81.66 on Jan 20. https://youtu.be/LyJilZe4QdI Oil price is at a critical point as it is shown on the daily chart. Two long-term trend line has collided in the price zone. There is also emotional resistance at 90. The price needs to get stable over 90 to start a rising trend. Considering the current momentum, the price movement should be much stronger to pass the resistance. Markets are still indecisive about the trends as it has just started in 2023 and now, we are at the beginning of the Lunar New Year. We can hope to see a more certain market after these holidays. China’s demand outlook meets ups and downs as the rate of covid infections fluctuates. At the moment, news shows a better condition of the virus but it needs to get stable to expect a constant increase in demand. Cold weather has disrupted demand and supply in most of the regions. Demand for bitumen decreased in Europe accordingly. Supply confronted difficulties in Iran as well but the price maintained its vast range of price due to the high volatility of the dollar exchange rate. Below, you can check several bitumen prices in different regions.

Location	Price
Iran (drum)	$380 - $395
Singapore	$505 - $510
South Korea	$415 - $425
Bahrain	$320 - $330
Spain	$350 - $360

We are glad to meet you in person at Rex Fuels and Solves Conference 2023 in Dubai this week.