New Flow of Demand
Bitumen season started in September but it didn’t have any prominent movement until last week. Petrochemicals markets look to be finding their way and suppliers are showing new price growths with sudden demand flow. Singapore had a constant increase in bitumen prices last week and Korea is likely to increase as well. Europe wasn’t an exception either.
In the Middle East, Iran had the most increase during the last 10 days. Affected by international and local factors, the price was raised by about 15%. New regulations in Iran have suddenly pushed the prices higher and it is making traders cautious about their purchases. Therefore, demand is coming from different regions and there might be a container shortage soon. If we see new shipping obstacles, the prices will even grow higher due to rising freights.
Yesterday, 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.
