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* Imports of 686,849 tons of Iranian crude oil in June compared to 1.15 million tons ago
* Imports of H1 oil from Iran fell by 33.9 % to 6.13 MT
* South Korean buyers cut off Iran's oil purchases before US sanctions
* June's total gross imports increased 13.2% to 13.14 million tonnes
By Jane Chung
SEOUL, July 15 (Reuters) The price of Iranian oil fell by 40.3% in June compared with the same month last year to reach its level on lowest since January 2015, buyers having slashed their purchases before the reimposition of US sanctions against Iran.
South Korea, one of Iran's major oil customers, imported 686,849 tonnes of Iranian crude oil in June, or 167,820 barrels per day, compared to 1.15 million tonnes in June 2017, according to reports. data from the customs office. This was down 9.5% from May.
In the first half of this year, Iran's consumption of crude oil in South Korea decreased by 33.9% from the same period last year to 6.13 million tonnes, or 248,367 tonnes. bpj, according to the data.
The decline comes after the US administration of President Donald Trump said that she would pull out of an international nuclear deal with Iran and renew tough economic sanctions against Tehran.
Seoul has since been in talks to obtain an exemption from the United States with the aim of avoiding any negative impact of stopping Iranian oil imports. In August, people close to the case said South Korea's imports of Iranian oil may be worthless for the first time in six years.
South Korea buys mainly from Iran an ultra-light form of crude oil, known as condensate, and its data does not provide product breakdown.
In 2012, South Korea succeeded in obtaining a waiver from the previous round of sanctions by importing limited quantities of Iranian oil during this period. These sanctions were lifted in 2016.
In total, imports of South Korean crude reached 13.14 million tonnes, or 3.21 million bpd, up 13.2% from 11, 61 million tonnes in the same month last year.
Saudi Arabia, South Korea's leading supplier of crude oil, crude imports increased 26.1% in June to 4.38 million tonnes, or 1.07 million bpd, compared to last year. Shipments from Mexico have almost quintupled to 568,377 tonnes.
South Korean crude imports reached 74.11 million tons in the first six months of the year, or 3 million bpd, an increase of 2.7% over 72, 17 million tons during the same period in 2017.
The final figures for the country's crude imports for the month of June are expected to be published by Korea National Oil Corporation (KNOC) later this month. (Reportage by Jane Chung edited by Kenneth Maxwell and Jonathan Oatis)
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