Economic Reports
The Financial reports of the US on Friday caused a hectic day for crude oil and fuel. The prices plunged sharply when the Job data appeared much stronger than expected. The Federal Reserve also announced its decision on increasing the interest rate by 25 basis points.
On the other hand, the Bitumen market became more hopeful about market improvement. In the Middle East, traders see an improving demand in the coming weeks. There have been several new construction projects starting in Africa and East Asia, therefore, they believe that the demand will eventually increase. The price in the Middle East increased last week. Refineries had another hot competition and vacuum bottom prices increased by about 5%.
China’s condition is not very clear as the country is just out of the new year’s holiday and there has been no progress in the economic data of the country.
In the Middle East, the new steel drum bitumen is volatile in the range of $390 – $400 and the bulk bitumen is in the range of $310 – $320. The bulk of Singapore is volatile in the range of $500 – $510 and South Korea is currently $ 415 – $ 425.
