IMF Expects Decline of Iran’s Economic Growth After Application of Sanctions

An Iranian man works on an oil production platform at the Soroush oil fields in the Persian Gulf, south of the capital Tehran, July 25, 2005. REUTERS/File Photo

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Thursday that Iran must implement policies to protect its macroeconomic stability against a re-imposition of US sanctions that would reduce economic growth after cutting oil exports.

IMF spokesman Gerry Rice told a regular media briefing that the IMF has called on Iran to strengthen its anti-money laundering and anti-terrorism financing frameworks to comply with international standards by a deadline in February 2019.

The Fund’s warnings were issued two days before US sanctions came into force amid a drop in imports of Iranian oil.

China’s imports of Iranian crude oil in September fell significantly compared to the same month last year, a sign that the country is curbing its purchases from Tehran as Washington prepares to re-impose sanctions on Iran’s oil sector as of Sunday.

According to data from the General Administration of Customs of China, shipments of oil from Iran reached 2.13 million tons in September, or 518,300 barrels per day, a decrease of 34 percent compared with 3.22 million tons in September last year.

Chinese Customs’ data confirmed a report issued by Reuters, suggesting that Asian buyers, including Japan, China and South Korea, were cutting imports in September before the re-imposition of US sanctions on Iran’s oil sector. Kunlun Bank, China’s main channel for transactions with Iran, is also preparing to stop dealing with payments from Tehran under pressure to renew sanctions.

Over the first nine months of the year, China’s imports of Iranian crude reached 24.49 million tons, an increase of 4 percent compared to the same period in 2017, according to the available data. With the falling of China’s imports from Iran, shipments from the United States rose in September despite the intensifying trade war between Washington and Beijing.

Chinese oil imports from the United States in September reached 1.04 million tons, or about 253,000 barrels per day, compared to 495,551 tons a year ago.

China’s imports from Saudi Arabia, the largest producer of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), fell 12 percent to reach 3.78 million tons, or 919,000 barrels per day, in September. (1 ton = 7.3 barrels).