Saudi may increase production to recover lost market share. Petrol and gasoline prices in America increased due to shut-down refineries, peak demand, and low stockpiles.
On Friday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry announced that the country’s Commercial Attache for Eurasian Affairs will be departing for international negotiations on a negotiated solution to the Ukraine War.
The Ministry’s spokesman, Wang Wenbin, declared that China is willing to collaborate with the international community to continue to play a constructive role in achieving a political settlement to the Ukraine crisis.
Gold market de-escalating this week
On the other hand, Gold demand in central banks dropped by 64% in the second trimester of 2023. It is unclear if this will lead to a surge in crude oil prices. Saudi Arabia may increase its production to recover its lost share of the market.
The analysis conducted by the Oilprice website indicates that the current oil price of 85 USD is only indicative of a potential rise in the coming months. In the meantime, the cost of petrol and gasoline has risen significantly in the United States over the past week.
According to GasBuddy, this is due to the closure of some refineries due to the extreme heat, the peak of summer petrol demand, and the lowest levels of petrol storage in July since 2015, which has caused fuel prices in America to rise further. Furthermore, the continued hot weather is likely to contribute to further increases in fuel prices.
Bitumen prices in the Middle East
In the past ten days, the price of oil in Singapore has risen significantly, reaching an unprecedented level of 575 USD. Bulk bitumen in Singapore and South Korea has reached 460 USD and 405 USD respectively, while bitumen in Bahrain has remained stable at 410 USD. In the European Union, the bitumen price has exceeded 500 USD. Overall, oil prices have remained within a range of 83-86 USD, however, further investigation into economic reports from the United States, such as that of none farm payroll, is necessary to determine if the level of 86 USD will be breached.
Despite the inclement weather conditions during the monsoon season, the price of bitumen in India increased by 23.5 USD on August 1st. However, the demand for bitumen in India is not satisfactory. In Iran, the summer heat caused an unexpected holiday, and port operations in Bandar Abbas were slow. This caused vacuum bottom prices to rise significantly, with an estimated 14% increase in the base price on Sunday. Despite the US dollar appreciating slightly against the Iranian Rial, this did not result in a decrease in bitumen prices in Iran.
