Weekly Oil Report: Headwinds Coming Towards Crude

On August 25, Brent oil closed at $84.07 and WTI settled around $79.97. Watch crude technical analysis and comment your ideas:

Brent gained about 2% on Friday following Powell’s Speech after a couple of bearish days.

Fed Chair Powell held a hawkish tone at the Jackson Hole Symposium. “The lower monthly reading for core inflation in June and July were welcome, but two months of good data are only the beginning of what it will take to build the confidence that inflation is moving down sustainably,” he said. Inflation is still above where policymakers feel comfortable, however, the Central bank leader didn’t give any indication about the Fed’s next move.

In addition to the US, the economic condition in China is also unclear. The real estate is facing a crisis and it caused Evergrande Group, a property giant in China, to file for bankruptcy protection in the US.

New appearing agreements are also causing uncertainties about the Middle East. Last week, the BRICs invited Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the UAE to join the grouping of top emerging economies in January 2024. Some talk about a new currency among the BRICs countries to remove dollar from their international trade. There is also more possibility of increasing supply from Iran, Venezuela, and Kurdistan.

Fuel and bitumen were unstable again last week. On one side, Iran increased vacuum bottom rates. On the other hand, fuel and bitumen prices relatively decreased. Although we are in bitumen season, market players are still hesitant to make their purchases. If nothing unprecedented happens, India may increase the price on September 1st too.

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