Demand Flow
The market trend is still bullish and the price is growing on a daily basis. Although the bitumen season started in August, demand in the last two weeks increased hugely. The flow of demand coming from Africa and East Asia is getting stronger and it might cause a shortage of containers for several specific destinations. The shortage, which was also noted in my last report, can cause more increase in bitumen prices and other petrochemicals.
Crude oil jumps have made people more optimistic about seeing 100 USD in 2023. China’s reports about production rates have made the market hopeful about the country’s recovering economy. These better reports show that demand will increase. As crude oil is increasing, we can expect more growth in petroleum product markets.
In the Middle East, the new steel drum bitumen was in the range of $ 418 – $ 425 and the bulk bitumen was in the range of $ 335 – $ 340. The bulk of Singapore is volatile in the range of $ 523 – $ 525 and South Korea is currently $ 435.
