In Iran, despite heavy pressure on exporters, refinery competition is minimal and prices have remained stable.
Israel’s national security adviser to the prime minister indicated that the Gaza conflict might extend throughout 2024, amidst severe humanitarian crises in Gaza and widespread global protests.
As international concern grows over Gaza’s dire conditions, Russia has renewed its offensive in Ukraine, capturing three additional cities.
Last week, the Federal Reserve revealed that some American officials advocate for further interest rate hikes to curb high inflation. Consequently, Brent crude oil prices fell by about 1% early in the week. However, on May 29, prices rose due to forecasts about OPEC and OPEC+ decisions at their June 2 meeting to maintain production cuts, coupled with the anticipated increase in fuel demand from the start of summer travel in the United States.
Sugandha Sachdeva, the founder of SS Wealthstreet, believes that the anticipated continuation of oil production cuts by OPEC+ members will positively impact the markets. This coordinated effort aims to stabilize prices and balance the global oil market.
Additionally, investors are awaiting the American Petroleum Institute’s data on U.S. crude oil reserves to assess its impact on oil price trends. Reuters predicted on May 28 that U.S. crude oil production decreased by approximately 900,000 barrels over the past week.
Meanwhile, as Putin urged Moscow and its trading partners to move away from using US dollars in financial transactions, the Indian company Reliance signed a deal with Rosneft to pay for Russian oil in rubles.
With the rise in crude oil prices, Singapore CST180 reached $528. Bitumen prices in Singapore and South Korea remained steady at $440 and $400, respectively. In Bahrain, bitumen traded at $480. In Europe, bitumen prices ranged from $440 to $500.
Despite the upcoming monsoon season in India, it appears that Indian refineries will either keep bitumen prices unchanged on June 1st or slightly reduce them.
The situation in Iran has remained largely unchanged. Despite heavy pressures on exporters, there is no significant competition among refineries, and prices have stayed relatively stable.
It seems likely that prices will not decrease. The market awaits a significant event to improve the bitumen price trend.
