LONDON--Iran's oil exports dropped to their lowest level since
October but are still set to narrowly surpass an agreed cap at the
end of the month, data released by a top energy watchdog showed
Friday.
An interim nuclear agreement between Iran and six world powers
requires the Islamic Republic to keep its crude exports at 1
million barrels a day on average over the six months ending July
20.
In its monthly oil-market report, the International Energy
Agency--which advises industrialized nations on oil policies--said
Iran's oil exports, including crude and condensates, had fallen by
26% in June to 1.08 million barrels a day amid sharp cuts by its
two largest Asian buyers. That low level had not been reached since
October when it stood at 715,000 barrels a day, according to
previous IEA data.
China has cut its Iranian oil imports by 36% in just two months
to 510,000 barrels a day after building up its strategic reserves,
the IEA said. India's oil purchases from the Islamic Republic have
dropped 29% in the same period to reach 141,000 barrels a day.
Both Asian nations have showed strong appetite for Iran's crude
as they tend to barter the commodity for their own goods such as
rice or automobile spare parts because international sanctions
generally make hard currency transfers to Tehran impossible. But
the same sanctions have also forced those buyers to keep their
average Iranian oil supplies constrained.
Still, Iranian crude exports--excluding condensates--stood at
around 1.1 million barrels a day in the past five months, based on
IEA data, about 100,000 barrels a day above the level agreed with
six world powers in an interim agreement implemented on January 20.
The deal allowed Iran to keep its crude exports unchanged and
offered some limited sanctions relief in exchange for scaling down
its atomic program.
Unless Iran's sales collapse this month, its six-month average
will surpass the cap of 1 million barrels a day.
Washington's reaction to Iran's breaching the crude-exports cap
has been muted, as it argues such shipments fluctuate on a monthly
basis. Instead, the U.S. and five other world powers are focusing
on a final resolution of the dispute with Iran, which has struggled
to reach completion as a July 20 deadline nears.
Write to Benoît Faucon benoit.faucon@wsj.com
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