Oil prices remain stable after the fall of Iranian exports

TOKYO (Reuters) – Oil prices changed little on Tuesday, with new evidence showing Iranian crude exports are dwindling in the run-up to the new imposition of US sanctions, as a hurricane crossed the Gulf of Mexico .

Brent was down 7 cents to 83.84 dollars a barrel at 20:20 GMT. On Monday, the Brent fell to 82.66 dollars, but mostly recovered, investors betting that the Chinese economic recovery would revive the demand for crude. Brent hit a record $ 86.74 last week, its highest level in four years.

US crude fell 1 cent to 74.28 dollars a barrel, falling to 73.07 dollars in the previous session to close the day to 5 cents less.

Iran's exports of crude oil fell again in the first week of October, according to data provided by oil companies and an industry source. The sanctions imposed by the United States hit it hard and the other OPEC oil producers were challenged as they sought to fill the gap.

The Islamic Republic exported 1.1 million barrels a day (bar / d) of crude over this seven-day period, according to data from Refinitiv Eikon. An industry source that also tracks exports said deliveries for October were up to less than 1 million bpd.

This represents a drop of at least 2.5 million bpd in April, before President Donald Trump withdraws the United States from a 2015 nuclear deal with Iran and imposes new sanctions . This figure also marks a further decline from 1.6 million bpd in September.

Last week, Saudi Arabia announced plans to boost crude oil production to 10.7 million bpd next month, a record high.

Iran's oil minister, Bijan Zanganeh, on Monday urged a Saudi claim that the kingdom could replace Iran's crude exports.

"Iran's oil can not be replaced by Saudi Arabia or any other country," Zanganeh said, according to his ministry's website.

Oil companies in the Gulf of Mexico ended 19% of their oil production when Hurricane Michael moved to the eastern Gulf states, including Florida.

If the current forecast was accurate, the hurricane would be largely absent from the main Gulf producing assets, analysts said, but any change in direction could increase its impact.