Iran’s monthly oil revenues averaged an estimated $3.4 billion in the
first half of 2013, down from $6.3 billion in the same period last year, a drop
of 46 percent, Reuters reported today. The monthly revenues in the first half
of this year compared to 2011, when it stood at $8 billion before the oil
sanctions began, have dropped by 58%.
The Associated Press had also reported earlier that nearly half of
Iran's monthly earnings from crude oil exports are accumulating in accounts
overseas because of U.S. sanctions that restrict Tehran's access to the money.
A senior U.S. official had told AP that about $1.5 billion in crude oil
revenues (out of the current $3.4 billion) is piling up in restricted foreign
accounts every month. So in practical terms, Iran’s available hard currency
from monthly oil sales has dropped from $6.3 billion last year to around $1.9
billion this year.
