IMF: Iran Needs Oil Price Close to $100 a Barrel to Balance Budget

by **GirlBye** Sat Nov 17, 2018 2:03 pm

Sigal Mandelker, the undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence at the US Treasury, talks to journalists at a press briefing in Dubai on July 12, 2018. Kamran Jebreili / AP Photo

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said Iran needs oil prices to reach USD98.6 a barrel this year and USD95.4 next year to balance its budget.

The IMF estimated in May Iran needed to sell oil for USD68.1 a barrel this year and USD71.6 a barrel next year to fill any budget deficit, reported Bloomberg.

Sanctions are expected to cause a 1.5 percent recession in the Iranian economy this year and 3.6 percent next year, according to IMF which said in its report that the re-imposition of US sanctions will reduce Iran’s prospects of commerce and economic growth on the long-term.

In the wake of the latest round of US sanctions on Iran and after US President Donald Trump pulled out from the nuclear deal, the rial has fallen about 70% against the US dollar during the current year.

Sigal Mandelker, Treasury’s undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, kicked off a swing through European capitals to drum up support for the Iran sanctions by casting doubt on European efforts to develop a “special purpose vehicle,” or SPV, to keep funds flowing to Iran without using the US financial system.

“I’m not concerned about the SPV actually at all, and I do believe that we’re going to find additional mechanisms by which we can work together,” Mandelker told reporters in London on Monday.

“I very strongly believe that we have a common picture with our European allies” concerning threats coming out of Iran, she said.

US National Security Adviser John Bolton said: "We think the government is under real pressure and it's our intention to squeeze them very hard.”

https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1462556/imf-iran-needs-oil-price-close-100-barrel-balance-budget