Weekly Oil Report: Markets Are Still on Edge

Crude oil grew back slightly as expected leaving the bitumen market a bit confused. The weakness is not over. [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1yaTA6bZzY[/embed] Brent oil closed at $100.70 and WTI rose up to $92.96 on Friday. In WTI daily chart, the growth was not significant considering the buying pressure. The weakness is still diming the market and it cannot be taken as a definite trend change. The dollar index is also showing a bearish sentiment but it might not last very long as the Fed is posing a more aggressive approach. The hawkish tone of the Fed has caused a dump in stocks and fear in traders. If the interest rate increase continues as sharply as stated, there will be another low in stocks and commodities. Uncertainty, considering all the effective factors, remains within various markets. Yet traders try to stay active. Russia-Ukraine war casualties might grow in the coming days. The US ordered all of its residents to leave Ukraine immediately after a possible attack of Russia on civilians. Ukraine authorities also did not allow public celebration on Independence Day. Russia prefers to burn all the gas on Nord Stream 1 instead of exporting it to Europe. The country claims to have technical issues on the export path. The US is still observing Iran’s suggestions on JCPOA. Although the talks were never this close, several countries are not much happy with better relations with Iran. Bitumen prices have been nearly stable in most of the regions, however, Asia faced volatilities. Singapore and Korea had price growth during the week. Yet, Singapore seems to have a sudden decrease on Friday that should be observed on the market opening. India expects a possible increase from $25 to $45 on the 1st of September. Iran increased VB prices by about 5% after the former 2.9% growth in mid-August. Iran FOB Bandar Abbas is now in the range of $415 - $420. Singapore bulk bitumen was $577 - $581 on 26 August, South Korea 60/80 was $528 - $532 and Bahrain had been volatile in the range of $460-$465.