IMF: Oil price to rise if Iran cuts export to OECD

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) warns crude prices could rise by 20 to 30 percent this year if I.R.Iran halts oil exports to members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

In its latest World Economic Outlook report published on Tuesday, the IMF said the eurozone debt crisis and rising oil prices pose the biggest threats to global economic recovery, AFP reported.

The IMF projected that a halt in Iran’s crude exports to the OECD advanced economies could push prices up by about 20 to 30 percent, which could cause a slump similar in magnitude to the one that happened in the 1930s.

Iran’s decision to cut crude exports to certain European countries was made after the EU foreign ministers agreed on January 23 to ban oil imports from Iran and freeze the assets of the country’s Central Bank across the EU.