Iran to reduce oil reliance and boost other exports

In view of sanctions on Iran, Iran has decided to reduce reliance on oil exports and instead rely on other exports from the country.

This was disclosed by the Iranian president  in a television interview late on Saturday.

"We have to go in a direction to reduce oil receipts in our economy and raise other incomes such as non-oil exports that are increasing rapidly," the Iranian president said.

The International Energy Agency estimated last week that Iran's oil exports may have dropped below 1 million barrels per day in January from 2.2 million bpd in late 2011, costing the country over $40 billion in reduced revenues last year.

In the meantime, Iran's government has sought to impose cuts to its spending by drastically reducing access by businesses and individuals to its generous foreign exchange sales rates and banned the import of luxury items to stem the flow of hard currency abroad.

Read more about it at: Yahoo Finance
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Turkey pays the price for US Sanctions on Iran by its dwindling gold-for-oil export

Turkey, which is a US ally, is paying the price of the US imposed sanctions on Iran as its gold-for-gas trade with Iran is shrinking.

As per Reuters, U.S. officials have sought to prevent Turkish gold exports, which indirectly pay Iran for its natural gas, from providing a financial lifeline to Tehran, largely frozen out of the global banking system by Western sanctions over its nuclear program.

Turkey, Iran's biggest natural gas customer, has been paying Iran for its imports with Turkish lira, because sanctions prevent it from paying in dollars or euros.

Iranians then use those lira, held in Halkbank accounts, to buy gold in Turkey, and couriers carry bullion worth millions of dollars in hand luggage to Dubai, where it can be sold for foreign currency or shipped to Iran.

The gold exports from Turkey to Iran rose to $6.5 billion in 2012, more than ten times the level of 2011, while exports to the United Arab Emirates - much of it for onward shipment to Iran or conversion to hard currency - rose to $4.6 billion from $280 million.

However, due to the US sanctions, the Turkish bullion exports have fallen to 10.5 tonnes in December from 15.2 tonnes in November.

Read more about it at: Reuters
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