Iranian oil sells crumble in the face of Trump sanctions

Bloomberg:
Aggressive and undiplomatic, certainly, but also extremely effective. With nearly 50 days to go before new U.S. oil sanctions against Iran enter into force, President Donald Trump has already managed to crush the country’s petroleum exports, dealing severe economic damage to Tehran.

Iranian oil exports have plunged about 35 percent since April, the month before Trump ripped up the diplomatic deal that Barack Obama negotiated to curtail Tehran’s nuclear program and announced new oil sanctions.

"Iranian oil exports are coming down pretty hard," said Roger Diwan, a veteran oil analyst at consultant IHS Markit Ltd.

The bigger-than-expected reduction, with more to come, is a win for Trump, who made a tougher stance on Iran a cornerstone of his foreign policy and imposed the sanctions despite opposition in Europe and open hostility from China and India, the top buyers of Iranian crude. When the sanctions were first announced, their unilateral nature prompted many in the oil market to question their effectiveness.

Oil accounts for nearly 80 percent of Iran’s tax revenue, according to the International Monetary Fund, making petroleum the regime’s economic lifeblood. As oil exports have plunged, Iran’s currency -- the rial -- has dived 60 percent on the unofficial market, pushing up inflation.
...
This also means less fund to fund terrorism which is Iran's other major export item.  It should impact their proxies in Gaza, Lebanon, and Yemen where they are most active as well as their operations in Syria. 

It is beyond disgusting that John Kerry and some Europeans are attempting to help this terror regime evade sanctions and try to wait out the Trump administration.

While some argue that the sanctions might drive up the price of oil, history tells a different story.  When sanctions were in place before, the price of oil fell dramatically as OPEC attempted to use predatory pricing to kill off the US shale wells.  That effort backfired when the shale producers became more productive and pushed their cost below that of many OPEC countries.  The fact is that the world does not need Iranian oil.

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