Difficulty in Making Decisions
Likewise last several weeks, uncertainty and geopolitical tension have been the main leaders of petroleum-related markets. Oil, as the major component of the pricing in its subproducts, ended the week with 6% growth, the highest price since December 2023. The jump caused many market players to haste with their purchases to avoid higher rates. Heating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and inventory drop were the main reasons for the chaos.
The risk of war in the Middle East is increasing due to new attacks and threats for coming raids. Despite the rise, experts believe that markets are still underestimating the reality of disputes.
Bitumen market participants were accordingly confused because of the sudden overload of events. In Singapore, prices decreased gradually but it might be temporary since there will be new demand after the end of the Chinese Spring Festival. In the Middle East bitumen Market, confusion dominated but the price took an upward trend because of the fears. New demand from East Asia is expected as well. Bahrain, on the other hand, had a policy to decrease the rates after a couple of months. The decrease happened while India has a new increase coming on the 1st of February.
In the Middle East, the new steel drum bitumen was in the range of $ 360 – $ 365 and the bulk bitumen was in the range of $ 280 – $ 285. The bulk of Singapore is volatile in the range of $ 435 – $ 440 and South Korea is currently $ 380 – $ 385. Bahrain bulk recorded 360 USD at the end of the year.
