US dollar had a trembling week after the release of unpromising data about the US unemployment rate and average hourly earnings. The fall of the USD strengthened commodities, including crude oil and gold. Bitumen and petrochemical prices rose accordingly in most of the regions. Singapore bulk and drum bitumen increased about $10 to $20 resulting in $400 – $410 per ton for bulk and $510 – $520 per ton for drum bitumen. Iran bulk and drum bitumen prices were fluctuating in the same range as the last week. Its bulk bitumen was $285 – $290 per ton, and the drum bitumen was about $355 – $365 per ton.
The delta variant of Covid has been flaring up in new regions. Governments might establish another general lockdown if they cannot control the spread of the virus. The market has not reacted to the situation yet. Bitumen demand for India, South and East Africa has even increased during the week. Despite the increased rates, traders are still interested in prices.
As we mentioned in Bitumen Price last weekly report, construction projects are expanding in the Eastern and Southern parts of Africa. Kenya, located in East Africa with a coastline on the Indian Ocean, is not excluded from the expansion plans. Bitumen and asphalt imports volume have risen during the first week of July to the destination ports of Kenya.
The expansion of road projects is not only the concern of African governments. In China, several roads and highways are under construction or in the process of maintenance. For instance, a new expressway will connect Chengjiang and Huaning. The project is about 63.3km, and it will cost around US$1.86 billion. Countries such as Brazil, the US are on the same track to expand or improve the quality of their roads and highways.
