Iran raises September crude oil prices to Asia

Iran has set the official selling price (OSP) of its Iranian Light grade for its Asian buyers at $9.50 above the Oman/Dubai average for September, up $0.60 from the previous month, the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) reported on Sunday.

Iran is nursing a battered economy, with its currency hitting its lowest value ever after the US withdrew from the nuclear deal.

Earlier this month, the US sanctioned a United Arab Emirates-based firm and several Asian companies for facilitating the sale of millions of dollars’ worth of Iranian oil for shipment to East Asia.

The sanctions also come ahead of OPEC+ meetings that begin this week, where the US and European nations have pressed cartel members, namely Saudi Arabia and the UAE, to pump more oil in hopes of reducing gas prices for American consumers. In late June, OPEC and allied producing nations decided not to boost production of crude in a meaningful way for consumers.

In July, several Iranian companies and UAE-based Iranian nationals were hit with sanctions, including Iran-based Jam Petrochemical Co., which has exported hundreds of millions of dollars worth of products to countries throughout Asia, including China.(Reuters)