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Washington - Global crude prices could rise 20-
30% if Iran halts oil exports as a result of US and European Union
sanctions, the International Monetary Fund said on Wednesday.
In its first public comment on a possible Iranian oil supply
disruption, the IMF said financial sanctions against Tehran may be “tantamount
to an oil embargo” and would imply supply declines of about 1.5 million barrels
per day from the world’s fifth-largest oil producer.
That volume of supply disruption would be comparable to losses in
output from Libya last year due to civil war that pushed oil prices over $100 a
barrel.
The IMF highlighted the risks in a note to deputies from G20
countries who met in Mexico City last week.
Iran has threatened to block the Strait of Hormuz shipping route,
through which flows 20 percent of oil traded globally.
The comments add pressure to the Obama administration as it tries
to get countries to reduce shipments of Iranian oil without pushing prices
higher ahead of the November U.S. presidential election.
