Source:

September 1, 2010

LONDON -

Turkey’s gasoline exports to Iran dropped by a hefty 74 percent in July after U.S.-led sanctions against the Islamic Republic came into force, figures obtained by Reuters from Turkey’s statistics office showed on Wednesday.

Turkey sold 35,444 tonnes of the fuel to Iran in July, equivalent to roughly one standard cargo tanker or 301,272 barrels, which is down from exports of 138,673 tonnes in June.

Turkey received $24.42 million from Iran for the gasoline sales, which amounted to an average of $688 a tonne.

That is only a minimal premium above the average spot price in the Mediterranean in July of around $686 tonne PU-C-MED, according to Reuters data.

A new round of U.S. and EU sanctions has choked off many potential suppliers to Iran, whose limited refining capacity means it has to import up to 40 percent of its gasoline needs, even though it is the fifth-biggest oil exporter.

The sanctions are aimed at pressuring Iran to curb its nuclear programme, which some countries fear is aimed at making weapons, something Tehran denies.

(Reporting by and , Editing by Jane Baird)