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Bitumen / Asphalt
Overview
Global bitumen and asphalt spot prices are influenced by changing supply and demand fundamentals, VGO and crude prices. Argus is the only provider of global bitumen and asphalt spot prices assessed by a global team of reporters, based on market trade. Spot price coverage includes regional truck, rail and seaborne prices.
Latest bitumen / asphalt news
Browse the latest market moving news on the global bitumen and asphalt industry.
Sonatrach restarts Skikda bitumen plant after 4-yr halt
Sonatrach restarts Skikda bitumen plant after 4-yr halt
London, 11 July (Argus) — Algeria's state-owned oil firm Sonatrach has resumed production at its Skikda bitumen plant after shutting it back in 2020 when it ran short of supplies of heavy refinery residue feedstock. The company received a 10,000t cargo of atmospheric straight-run residue from a Mediterranean refiner in recent weeks, enabling bitumen production at Skikda to restart. Sonatrach plans to produce up to 100,000 t/yr of bitumen at Skikda, matching current output at its bitumen unit in Arzew. This will help meet domestic demand in Algeria, which is largely dependent on imports. Demand was an estimated 600,000-700,000t last year. Demand has risen in recent months ahead of Algeria's presidential elections, which were brought forward earlier this year by three months to 7 September. Local suppliers expect bitumen consumption in the country to peak in July and August this year at 80,000-90,000 t/month, driven by a concerted push by the government for contractors to complete road and highway projects before the elections. Sonatrach imported its large-scale bitumen cargo volumes into a string of terminals that it runs along the Algerian coast in annual tenders up until 2021 when Spain's Cepsa was awarded the volumes. But bitumen and other trade between Algeria and Spain was suspended the following year after Madrid publicly recognised Morocco's autonomy plan for Western Sahara. Sonatrach has since mainly relied on flows from its 198,000 b/d Augusta refinery in Sicily. Algeria has also imported cargoes from other places in the Mediterranean including Greece. By Keyvan Hedvat Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
US June inflation slows to 1-year low of 3pc
US June inflation slows to 1-year low of 3pc
Houston, 11 July (Argus) — US inflation slowed in June to the lowest in a year while core inflation hit a more than three-year low, signs of easing price pressures that may prompt Federal Reserve policymakers to begin cutting borrowing costs in the fall. The consumer price index (CPI) slowed to an annual 3pc in June, lower than economists' estimates for a 3.1pc reading, from 3.3pc in May and 3.4pc in April, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. So-called core inflation, which strips out volatile food and energy prices, rose by 3.3pc in June, the lowest since April 2021, and slowing from 3.4pc in May. The energy index rose by an annual 1pc in June, down from 3.7pc in May, while the gasoline index contracted by 2.5pc in June compared with a 2.2pc gain in May. Energy services rose by an annual 4.3pc, slowing from 4.7pc the prior month. After the report, the CME's FedWatch tool signaled an 81pc probability that the Fed will cut its target rate by a quarter point in September from near 70pc odds Wednesday. Probabilities of three quarter point cuts by December rose to 38pc today from 26pc the prior day. Food costs rose by 2.2pc in June from 2.1pc the prior month. Shelter rose by 5.2pc from 5.4pc the prior month. Transportation services rose by 9.4pc in June following a 10.5pc gain the prior month. Airline fares fell by 5.1pc in June after a 5.9pc decline. Headline inflation had risen from 3.1pc in January to as high as 3.5pc in March as economic data, especially job gains, had come in stronger than expected. That had prompted the Federal Reserve to delay widely expected rate cuts as it said it needed "greater confidence" that inflation was on a "sustained" path towards its 2pc target. The Fed hiked its target rate to a 23-year high of 5.25-5.5pc in July 2023 and has kept it there since to rein in inflation that hit a high of 9.1pc in June 2022. The Fed, in its latest policy meeting last month, penciled in one likely quarter point cut this year, down from three penciled in last March. CPI contracted by a seasonally adjusted 0.1pc in June from the prior month, after a flat reading in May, a 0.3pc monthly gain in April and 0.4pc gains in February and Marhc. Core CPI was up by 0.1pc for the month after a monthly gain of 0.2pc in May. By Bob Willis Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Lithuanian refinery to halt bitumen output for a month
Lithuanian refinery to halt bitumen output for a month
London, 5 July (Argus) — Bitumen production at Polish firm Orlen's 190,000 b/d Mazeikiai refinery in Lithuania will be halted for around a month from 7 October because of maintenance, according to a source with knowledge of the refinery's operations. It is not clear what impact the work will have on other products. The maintenance had initially been expected to last for just two weeks and cut output of all oil products, including bitumen, by around 50pc. As a key supplier of bitumen to the Baltic and Nordic markets, Orlen is looking to transport around 20,000t of bitumen from its refinery at Plock in Poland via trucks to the Baltics to help make up for the lost supply during the maintenance, the source said, adding that the company is also looking into the possibility of importing bitumen to Klaipeda in Lithuania. Klaipeda is usually used to export bitumen produced at Mazeikiai. The loss of supply will be particularly felt in the Baltic markets as bitumen consumption there typically peaks in October. The Mazeikiai refinery has been an important supplier of bitumen in the region after sanctions against Russia stopped cross-border truck flows into the Baltics last year. Swedish specialty products producer Nynas is set to benefit from the maintenance as it operates a bitumen terminal at Muuga in Estonia. Bitumen production at Mazeikiai reached a 10-year high of 468,400t in 2023 . The maintenance work could prevent the refinery from hitting a new record this year. By Tom Woodlock and Fenella Rhodes Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Romanian truck e-trading system affects bitumen flows
Romanian truck e-trading system affects bitumen flows
London, 4 July (Argus) — A new Romanian e-trading system for cross-border truck movements into and out of the country is likely to cause delays and border congestion, according to bitumen market participants. The system, which requires Romanian recipients of trucked goods — including bitumen — from other EU countries to issue a confirmation code to enable incoming volumes to cross the border, became mandatory on 1 July after a six-month phase in. The same applies to Romanian truck exports to other EU markets. Hefty fines will be imposed on firms seeking to make cross-border movements without the required e-accreditation, with the Romanian government looking to crack down on tax evasion as part of efforts to reduce a massive budget deficit. The regulations do not apply to rail and shipping movements, which come under separate and existing trading and transaction rules. A Romanian bitumen supplier said firms that have been using the system for the past few months should experience no significant issues now it is mandatory, although an EU exporter to Romania that has been using the e-system since January said some issues persist in completing cross-border truck shipments. A third market participant, based in Romania, said there had been border delays since 1 July, affecting some bitumen truck import movements into the country, and that these would probably persist especially in cases where trucks arrive at the border outside working hours when the receiving company may not be immediately available to give the go-ahead. Romania is one of Europe's leading bitumen buyers. Its imports accounted for all but around 100,000 t/yr of its domestic consumption, which was an estimated 620,000t in 2023, up from 547,000t in 2022. Rompetrol produces an annual average of around 100,000t of bitumen at its Vega refinery in Ploiesti, the only Romanian refinery that produces the heavy product. A sizeable chunk of Romanian bitumen imports are moved by truck from refinery suppliers in EU states Hungary, Greece, Bulgaria, Poland and Austria — as well as from non-EU Serbia — while substantial imports are made in tankers delivering cargoes to Romanian Black Sea ports at Mangalia, Constanta and Galati. By Keyvan Hedvat Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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