Oil prices down on Iran sanction waivers and demand concerns
Sanctions are curbing demand while there is ample supply as Russia, the US, and Saudi Arabia produce about 33-million bpd between them
London — Oil prices declined on Tuesday after Washington granted sanctions exemptions to top buyers of Iranian oil, lifting supply concerns and turning the market’s focus to worries that an economic slowdown may curb fuel demand. Benchmark Brent crude futures were down 20c at $72.97 a barrel by 9.29am GMT. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $62.98 a barrel, down 12c from their last settlement. Washington gave 180-day exemptions to eight importers: China, India, South Korea, Japan, Italy, Greece, Taiwan and Turkey. This group takes as much as three quarters of Iran’s seaborne oil exports, trade data shows, meaning Iran will still be allowed to export some oil for now. Iran’s crude exports could fall to little more than 1-million barrels per day (bpd) in November, roughly a third of their mid-2018 peak. But traders and analysts say that figure could rise from December as importers use their waivers. China was given a waiver to import about 360,000 bpd from Iran dur...
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