TEHRAN – Iran’s OPEC governor said a U.S. sale of crude stockpiles from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) shows that other producers can’t raise output enough to replace Iranian crude, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday.

“This will only push prices higher”, Hossein Kazempour Ardebili said in an interview.

According to the official a rise in oil prices caused by the United States’ sanctions policies will hurt economic growth in China, Europe and other consumers, much like President Donald Trump’s trade measures.

“These days Saudi Arabia are supplying out of stocks not additional production,” he said. “Russia is also unable to do much not even 200,000 barrels per day - all are talking few barrels next year and the world economy will shrink and all indexes will be down.” Kazempour said in an Interview with Reuters earlier in July.

Iran’s OPEC governor also told Reuters the rise in oil output by OPEC and its allies, after pressure by Trump to do so, was only 170,000 barrels per day (bpd) in June and would not grow much in 2019, also weighing on economic growth.

“The higher oil prices Trump is causing are leading to a higher energy bill in the EU, Japan, China and India, impacting their economic growth just like the tariffs imposed upon them, also enabling Saudi Arabia and the UAE to pay their arms bill to the U.S.,” the official said.

EF/MA