Bernard Weinstein, National Journal Because of sluggish global demand and ample supplies of crude oil on the world market, the Iranian sanctions...
Bernard Weinstein, National Journal Because of sluggish global demand and ample supplies of crude oil on the world market, the Iranian sanctions have become an economic and political non-event, except in Iran itself. Though several months ago talk was rife about America dipping into the strategic petroleum reserve to restrain rising prices, this has not proved necessary in view of the dramatic 30 percent decline since early spring. In fact, the United States has purchased very little oil from Iran in recent decades, though in today’s fungible global market it’s often difficult to ascertain the country of origin for a particular shipment of crude. For that matter, petroleum imports from the entire Middle East have declined by 40 percent since 2000 and, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, may be close to zero by 2020. Read More
