Weekly Oil Report: Markets on Edge with Demand and Supply Incoherent News

Supply is not as tight as was expected on the first of May. Reports are keeping people uncertain towards the oil movement.

On May 26, Brent oil closed around $77.16 and WTI settled above $72.83.

https://youtu.be/jmtXfIWhOxk

Stalling at the blue resistance shows the uncertainty of traders. On the 1h chart, the sideways movement is approving the doubt. Reports are confusing the market since each comes in a different direction.

According to IEA and Bloomberg’s shipping data, not even Russia failed to cut production but also it might have boosted its output. This is while BofA believes that oil will see higher prices in the second half of the year. On the other hand, most believe that OPEC will announce a new production cut at the 4th June meeting. Qatar and Saudi threats against Europe and shorts will also add up to the tightening factors.

Meanwhile, demand in the physical oil market remains in good shape. The demand for petroleum products is relatively strong in East Asia and Africa.

Vacuum bottom fell by 2% in Iran on May 22. There are whispers about a big fall in India too. Bahrain’s prices had no changes for the second consecutive month and East Asia continued the sideways trend between 480 dollars in Singapore and 415 dollars in South Korea. The Bitumen market is not much strong due to the onset of Monsoon and oil weak movement with a relatively similar condition in fuel.

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

Location	Price (USD)
Iran	384-389
Singapore	485-490
South Korea	410-415
Bahrain	370-375
Spain	430-435