Iran’s floating oil inventories have fallen to 866,000 barrels amid a renewed US naval blockade, OilPrice reported, citing a Wall Street Journal report based on Kpler data. The depletion of crude held at sea signals further pressure on global oil availability, with a stockpile previously available to supply China now largely exhausted.
Iran had nearly 150 million barrels in floating storage before the United States blockaded its ports in April, according to the report. Inventories dropped below 50 million barrels by mid-June, when Washington lifted the restrictions following a ceasefire agreement with Tehran. That agreement broke down in mid-July, bringing renewed fighting and the reimposition of the blockade. By mid-October, the remaining stockpile had dwindled to the level recorded by Kpler.
Homayoun Falakshahi, Kpler’s head of crude oil analysis, told the Wall Street Journal that no further oil was available from those stocks for discharge in China. He characterised Washington’s approach as a bet that economic pressure would either bring Iran’s leadership back to negotiations over a nuclear agreement or provoke domestic protests that the authorities would struggle to contain.
The economic consequences also extend to the United States, OilPrice reported. Fuel prices, particularly diesel, remain at record levels, while President Trump’s approval ratings have declined ahead of the November midterm elections. The outlet also cited a Moody’s calculation earlier in the month putting the total cost of the Iran war to US households at $265 billion.
Iran’s authorities rejected suggestions that the country’s economy was nearing collapse. Its central bank governor told the Wall Street Journal that the economy had shown strong resilience and dismissed claims of an impending breakdown. Prospects for renewed diplomacy nevertheless remained weak in the report: Iran’s president and foreign minister had both indicated that week that distrust of the United States would make peace negotiations difficult.