Asia buys less than 1 mln bpd of Iran crude for first time this year
Asian buyers imported less than 1 million barrels per day of Iranian crude for the first time this year in August as China's buys hit the lowest since the easing of Western sanctions, although intake was still up 6.4 percent from a year ago.
Six world powers have been trying to overcome significant disagreements with Iran in the more-than-decade-long nuclear standoff that led to tough sanctions being imposed on Tehran in 2012, cutting its crude exports by more than half.
Imports by Iran's four major clients in Asia topped that mark in each of the first seven months of the year, rising to as much as 1.37 million bpd in February, although there has not been any apparent crackdown on the higher volumes.
