SRI LANKA EXPECTS 10% DROP IN ITS IRAN CRUDE DEMAND

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Sri Lanka expects a range of inflation-fighting policies will cool demand enough to help it trim its crude imports from Iran by at least 10 percent, a senior government official said on Friday.

“We’re quite confident there will be a reduction in the quantity of oil we purchase because of our new policies,” the official told Reuters on condition of anonymity. “Our own view is that it will reduce by at least 10 percent, and that will satisfy both parties.”

Sri Lanka may be hard hit by U.S. sanctions on Iran, given that it gets 93 percent of its crude from Tehran.

The United States is the island nation’s largest trading partner, while Iran is its fourth biggest.

In the last month, Sri Lanka has increased interest rates to avert a looming balance-of-payments crisis, raised state-controlled fuel prices, and stopped defending the rupee currency.