Bitumen market statistics in October 2008

Bitumen market is getting hotter since the oil prices have fallen to more reasonable levels. in October the market in some major importers and exporters had below results. for any Iran Bitumen inquiry please send your inquiries to emad@irxp.com or call +98 912 149 6126
the FOB price for bitumen 60/70 and 85/100 in new steel drums is 485 USD per MTon.
beneath report is some parts of Petrosil Group monthly report on Bitumen market. visit their website: www.petrosil.com for a full report.

China imported 255285 MT of bitumen in October 2008 and so far this year from January to October 2008, the country has imported roughly 2.8 million MT of bitumen. Most of the bitumen has been imported from Korea followed by Taiwan, Singapore, Thailand and Japan. CFR prices of imported bitumen are arriving at a price of US$ 300 – 310 PMT and domestic refiners have been reducing prices like other regional producers in line with weaker crude oil prices. Demand in the country has been mixed with cold weather preventing construction work in parts of China.

Japan imported 19469 MT and exported 4263 MT of bitumen in October 2008. So far this year from January to October, total import has been 213141 MT and total export has been 155416 MT. Most of the bitumen exported from the country gets imported by China. With prices to China falling rapidly, Japan opts to sell most of the bitumen produced in the domestic market. Japan’s peak monthly export in 2008 was in June when the country exported 36009 MT. Since then, export volumes have been falling consistently. Japan hopes to see higher demand and stable prices before initiating exports to China once again. FOB bulk bitumen prices are currently in the range of US$ 285 – 295 PMT.

Iranian bitumen prices have fallen to US$ 380 – 390 for bulk bitumen and US$ 480 – 490 PMT for drummed bitumen. Iran has been exporting approximately 10,000 MT of bitumen a week and selling far larger quantities in the domestic market. Last year, Iran exported roughly 692000 MT of bitumen and sold 3.6 million MT in the domestic market. Pasargad Oil and Jey refining have been closing deals regularly on the Iranian Mercantile Exchange. The latest offers on the exchange have Pasargad Oil offering bulk bitumen for export at an FOB price of Us$ 385 PMT while Jey Oil has offered bulk bitumen at a price of US$ 360 PMT Ex Work Esfahan Refinery. The Iranian Mercantile Exchange has effectively brought the price of domestic bitumen and exported bitumen prices closer together resulting in less smuggling and more bitumen available for export. Iran’s main bitumen grades which are exported include grade 40/50, 60/70 and 85/100. The country exports around 52% of the total volume in bulk and 48% in drums.

Please feel free to contact me for any Iranian bitumen inquiry: send emails to emad@irxp.com