Iran Decides to Compete with Russia in Oil Market: Bloomberg

Iran is reducing the price of its already cheap oil in order to compete with Russia in the Chinese market, according to Bloomberg.

For both countries, China is one of the few markets for crude oil available under Western sanctions. In May, Russian oil exports to China reached record levels, making it the main supplier of feedstock to China, surpassing Saudi Arabia.

Against this backdrop, Tehran has decided to sell Iranian oil for nearly $10 less per barrel than Brent crude in order to compete with Russian Urals brand fuel, traders have told the agency.

China's willingness to buy cheaper oil from sanctioned suppliers is also harming suppliers from West Africa, especially Angola, Gabon, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, analysts note.

At the end of June, it became known that Russia has begun to push Iraqi oil out of the Asian market, currently dominated by OPEC's second-largest producer, Iraq. The main buyers of Iraqi oil were China and India, but they have now increased raw material supplies from Russia.