Iran's crude exports are set to drop by about a quarter in December from the preceding month to the lowest since tough sanctions were applied this year.
Shipping sources said that oil shipments by Iran have more than halved in 2012 due to US and European sanctions on its oil trade,straining Tehran's finances,pressuring its currency and igniting inflation.
Most of the crude would have gone to energy hungry Asian buyers China,India,Japan and South Korea with the drop in December shipments from November representing a loss of about USD 800 million for Iran at current oil prices.
The source said that China,Iran's top trading partner is expected to drive the cut by lifting the lowest volume for the year.Iran's customers including Turkey,the only non Asian buyer will lift 834,000 barrels per day of crude in December compared with 1.08 million barrels per day in November.
According to Reuters calculations,the December number puts Iranian crude imports by Asia's top buyers for the full year at about 1.06 million barrels per day down roughly a quarter from a year ago.
The United States,which is due to decide this month on whether to renew a 180 day waiver from sanctions for importers of Iranian oil wants to see buyers progressively cut purchases.
The architects of US sanctions legislation,Democratic Senator Robert Menendez and Republican Senator Mark Kirk have urged the White House to require oil importers to reduce purchases by 18%or more to qualify for further exemption.
Of Iran's top four clients in Asia,Japan has already secured its exemption while India,South Korea and China are expected to get an exemption this month.
Market nerves over the impact of sanctions on supply pushed Brent crude futures to a high of USD 128 a barrel in March and have kept the benchmark over USD 100 for most of this year.
Iranian exports took a deep hit from July once European Union sanctions banning insurance cover for ships carrying Iranian oil came into force.Shipments recovered in October to 1.3 million barrels per day from 1.0 million seen in the 2 previous months.
