Weekly Oil Report: The Struggle Is Not Over

Crude oil continued the weak movement after a slight comeback to an expected price level because of incentives from the Federal Reserve.

Brent oil closed around $74.49 and WTI settled above $69.19 on March 24.

Oil price moved a bit upward as was expected in the technical review of the chart. The price is now trapped between two strong resistance and support. The white line is crucial historical support and the yellow line is the 0.5 fib level of the prior movement.

One of the incentives for the price was the increase in interest rates during the week. The Federal Reserve stayed hawkish in the March meeting to keep the interest rate increased by 25 basis points. The decision shows that the Fed is acting out to restrain inflation but they also signalled that the hikes could go on hold as some additional policy firming may be appropriate regarding the banking stress and recession fear.

The economic condition is at a very complex point and it is affecting all the markets including gas, fuel, bitumen, and petroleum products.

The Bitumen market, as it usually goes with crude oil, is also fragile. Traders are cautious about their next move as they see the struggle. Iran, on the other hand, played differently. On the first day of supply in the new solar year, rates spiked by about 21%. The change in dollar value against Rial was the main reason for this increase.

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