AFP reported today: Trump said China can continue to buy Iranian oil, and the oil price fell sharply in response
Global stock markets welcomed the ceasefire between Iran and Israel, and the oil price dropped significantly. After US President Trump stated that China can continue to purchase Iranian oil, the drop in oil prices accelerated.
The US often imposes sanctions on buyers of Iranian oil to drain Tehran's financial resources. China is a major oil customer of Iran. According to market analysis firm Kpler, China absorbed more than 90% of Iran's oil exports.
On Tuesday, Trump posted on a social platform during his trip to The Hague for the NATO summit, saying, "China can now continue to purchase Iranian oil, and I hope they will also purchase a large amount of American oil," which was seen as a change in the US policy of usually targeting major customers who purchase oil from Iran.
Previously, the conflict between Israel and Iran led to a sharp increase in the risk of blockading the Strait of Hormuz, with market concerns about a 20% global oil supply disruption. Goldman Sachs had warned that oil prices could break through $100 per barrel. However, by releasing the signal that "China is not subject to sanctions and can purchase Iranian oil," Trump conveyed to the market an expectation that "Iranian oil exports are not cut off." At the same time, China's actual import share of 90% of Iranian oil indeed has market persuasive power to stabilize supply, equivalent to using the "legitimization of Chinese demand" to alleviate the panic on the supply side.
However, it should be noted that the US Treasury updated sanctions on entities related to Iranian oil on the 24th. This "policy contradiction" seems more like a negotiation strategy of Trump: stabilizing oil prices by allowing Sino-Iranian trade, while simultaneously applying pressure on Iran through sanctions, and also including the commercial demand of hoping China buys American oil.
Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1835857672211656/
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