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Market Chatter: Iran's Oil Shipments to Asia Already Slowing Ahead of new US Sanctions

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Iran's oil shipments to Asia have already dried up, even before the US was set to announce new economic sanctions against the country, according to a Bloomberg report, citing traders familiar with the matter.

With limited supplies available in the region in recent weeks, prices have reportedly flipped from a discount to global benchmarks to a premium of over $4 a barrel, which was largely attributed to the effectiveness of the US naval blockade against Iran.

As a result, just 40 million barrels of oil are floating around the Malaysian peninsula, of which just 4 million barrels remained unsold. That is the equivalent of two supertankers, according to data from Kpler.

Chinese refiners, who bought the lion's share of Iran's oil exports, are expected to be affected by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's "greatest coordinated economic isolation in the history of the world," against Iran, which is set to be unveiled on Monday.

Earlier this year, Washington sanctioned the Hengli Petrochemical Refinery Co, one of China's largest private refineries, for its trade dealings with Iran, which the company had denied, as reported by.

The National Iranian Oil Company International Affairs department did not immediately respond to' request for a comment on this story.

(Market Chatter news is derived from conversations with market professionals globally. This information is believed to be from reliable sources but may include rumor and speculation. Accuracy is not guaranteed.)

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