Spot Trading Preference
Bitumen market participants have been acting passively through the past couple of days due to the fluctuating price of crude oil and fuel. Crude oil prices broke through a strong price region that stalled oil for about a year and a half.
In the Middle East, price usually acts with delay compared to Singapore. Currently, the new steel drum is volatile in the range of $ 400 – $ 410 and bulk bitumen is fluctuating in the range of $ 330 $ – $ 340. If the oil price continues to fall lower, the price of the Middle East will decrease in one or two weeks.
Singapore’s current bulk price FOB is volatile in the range of $ 543 – $ 547. In South Korea, the price of bulk bitumen 60/80 FOB is between $ 498 – $ 502.
Considering the price fluctuations of petroleum products, export and import are not much blooming in various regions. Accordingly, the shipping lines are facing more empty containers. As mentioned above, if the oil prices continue the falling trend, the market can have lower shipping freights.
When markets become unstable as the present condition, traders and constructors prefer to stick with their ongoing plans and requirements instead of filling up the inventories for the future.
Many construction projects have also been halted because of the increasing prices. The project financial forecast is changing because of the large spread of nominal cost and the final cost of bitumen and asphalt. Most of the projects cannot afford the spread at the moment.
