Bitumen prices
Bitumen prices are one of the subjects that people care about a lot. Since many items and factors affect the bitumen prices,
they change fast that’s why there are several analyzes on them
so that they may help the traders to catch up better with the price fluctuations. In this article, we will mention some items
that will cause a slight fluctuation in bitumen prices in the world. So, stay with us.
The long-term horizon of the chemical market in Europe is clear
Estimates show that the outlook for
conditions for chemical producers in European markets will be clear in the long run. The Baader Investment Bank said it expected
the recovery in the chemical market in continental Europe to have a delay until September 2020,
according to NIPNA. Generally speaking, business conditions have grown,
and the improvement in the chemical market is promising for the period 2021-2020,
but the situation in the short term is not yet favorable for this sector. As buyers continue to use their existing stocks,
there is no need to re-stock,
which means that markets will be calm in the coming weeks. Moreover, the outbreak of the global
coronavirus has made long-term predictions impossible,
while many companies are skeptical about
how things will turn out after July.
These conditions could delay the improvement
until the end of the summer,
which means that opportunities for profitability in the chemical
products market may have a delay until the third quarter of this year. Besides, pricing power weakens in the second half of this year. Since, Baader Alman Investment Bank predicts
that low single-digit profits from this market will shift to moderate single-digit conditions.
Alberta Canada’s new 10-year plan for petrochemical projects
This is another factor that causes the changes in bitumen prices. The province of Alberta, Canada,
has announced a 10-year financing plan using public revenues
(public funding through grants) to invest in petrochemical projects. According to news, the province of Alberta,
Canada unveiled a 10-year financing program using public revenues (public budgets through grants),
the Alberta provincial government hopes for a few billion dollars,
attract to invest in petrochemical projects. As a matter of fact, the Alberta Canada Incentive Program
will invest in petrochemical production projects in the province for implementing petrochemical projects,
which will be operational from the third quarter and autumn of this year.
Albert Naley, Deputy Minister of Natural Gas
and Electricity for the Alberta Provincial Government,
wants operational plans to meet the criteria. Furthermore, no private appraisal program will be for selecting projects,
which will be open for another decade throughout the year. In addition, there will be no deadline for it. “The Alberta Provincial Government is not committed to selecting winners and losers,
and we intend the market to do so,” he said. “We want to tell the industries to stop spinning according to the government’s plan,
and it is up to us to follow their plan,” Nali said.
Bitumen prices in Canada
Instead of granting credit points,
the program proposes the use of public revenues,
as the Deputy Minister of Natural Gas and Electricity said:
“This program is a more effective way to encourage investment because it provides companies
with conditions to understand the full incentive package.
“There will be significant opportunities for the development of Alberta’s petrochemical sector,
worth more than $30 billion,” Nali said. According to him, this figure is due to the historical development
of the petrochemical sector and is the forecast for participation in the industry.
Singapore Petrochemical exports drop by about 30%
This another factor that has a great impact on bitumen prices in the world. As reports show,
Singapore Petrochemical Exports in June 2020 decreased by
about 30% compared to the same period in 2019. Singapore’s petrochemical exports fell 29.1 percent in June compared to the same period last year,
while the country’s total exports are to improve in the
second half of this year after recovering last month, according to NIPNA. Statistics from the Singapore
Government Enterprise show that Singapore’s non-oil exports in June this year increased by 16.1 percent compared to the same period last year,
while this figure shows a decrease of 4.6 percent
compared to last month (May 2020).
Bitumen prices in Singapore
The increase in Singapore’s non-oil exports in June
came as a result of transition factors such as the
base impact observed in 2009,
along with increased demand for pharmaceutical products among our Singaporean trading partners, analysts said. On the other hand,
Asian Overseas Bank-UOB (UOB) said in a report on market
and global economics research that as the COVID-19 (Corona) virus outbreak spreads across Singapore’s trading partners,
we now look forward to Singapore’s non-oil exports this year.
“We expect the growth of non-oil exports in the second
half of this year to improve the emergence of signs that
Asian exports are likely to reach their lowest level in the second quarter,
although we expect a gradual recovery,
” Japan’s Namura Global Markets Research said in a note. According to the latest statistics,
Singapore’s non-oil exports in the first half of
this year increased by 6% compared to the same period last year.
Indian demand for polymer products decreased
As you can guess, this is another factor affecting the global bitumen prices. To be more specific,
the demand for polymer products in India fell by over 50%
in the first three months of 2020. Needless to mention that the demand for India’s plastics industry is to accumulate,
with a demand for plastic products declining by over 50 percent
in sales in the first three months of this year due to restrictions
and quarantine, according to NIPNA.