Weekly Oil Report: Market Tightly Trapped Between Fears and Hopes

While crude oil succeeded to have a huge price gap to get above $80 during the past days, it moved weakly afterwards.

On April 6, Brent oil closed around $84.73 and WTI settled above $80.42.

Price is clearly trapped in the current zone, not knowing where to be heading as the traders are very indecisive towards the future. The weekly candlestick of Brent closed with a very hammer-like shape, indicating the possibility of a turning point. The price is struggling with the blue line and if breaks through, it can get to the next shown resistance above that is also the top of a long-term channel.

If the indecisiveness of the market continues, the price keeps wandering between the two shown areas as before.

No need to say, that this tension in the market is dedicated to the long-lasting fear of a recession that is rejected or approved by the Banks and governments.  The economic reports of March, released on Friday, were better than expected but they can’t eliminate the possibility of a recession.

The geopolitical changes in the Middle East are also one of the effective factors for traders in the future. Iran and Saudi, two long-term enemies in the region, are trying to make peace together. Accordingly, they are trying to make a peach on Yemen Houthis by Oman mediating.

Bitumen and HSFO took different paths last week. HSFO rose along with Crude but bitumen stayed unchanged since demand did not increase in most regions disregarding India. Demand in Indian markets was strong as before. While Singapore’s price fell by $ 20 in the past few days, competition in Iran kept dominating.

Below, you can check several bitumen prices in different regions.

Location	Price (USD)
Iran	435 – 445
Singapore	465 – 475
South Korea	420 – 430
Bahrain	355 – 360
Spain	455 – 465