Iran’s oil sales to Asia highest in six months

EghtesadOnline: The latest market figures show that Asian buyers increased their purchases of crude oil from Iran in September for a third straight month with imports from the Islamic Republic now standing at the highest levels since March.

News ID: ۷۴۴۲۶۴

31 October 2017

Figures show imports of Iran’s oil by China, India, South Korea and Japan over the period stood at above 1.9 million barrels per day (mb/d).  The imports were higher than August by around 20 percent, Reuters reported.

Nevertheless, according to PressTV, Iran’s sales to its Asian clients were below highs that were hit earlier this year and last year when the Islamic Republic started to flow major volumes of oil to the markets after the removal of the sanctions.

Asian imports of Iran’s oil, which take the bulk of Iran’s oil exports, could fall in coming weeks as shipments bound for the region have dropped below 1.5 million bpd for October, Reuters added.

Chinese imports from Iran in September rose nearly 60 percent from a year ago to about 784,000 bpd, down from August when China imported the highest monthly amount since 2006, according to data on Reuters Eikon.

South Korea’s imports rose by nearly a quarter to just over 504,000 bpd, a five-month high. India’s imports fell by a third to 415,400 bpd.

Imports to Japan, which announced official figures on Tuesday, were down by more than 30 percent at a bit less than 216,000 bpd.

For several years before 2012 when Iran faced a series of draconian US-led sanctions, the country exported around 2.5 mb/d, with more than half going to Asia, mainly China, South Korea, India and Japan. The sanctions decreased exports to below 1 mb/d. After they were lifted in early 2016, Iran’s oil exports increased gradually and today stand at around pre-sanctions levels.