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Iran, which is subject to U.S. sanctions, has been forced to lower its already cheap crude oil prices to $10 a barrel below Brent futures, compared with a $5-6 discount in February, in order to find new buyers on the Chinese market. In May, Russia became China's largest oil supplier, exporting about 2 million barrels of Urals crude a day to the East Asian country, up 55% year-on-year. Russia's Urals crude has also been trading at a big discount due to the sanctions imposed on Russia.