DJ: Iran Ready To Sell Crude Oil In Any Currency-Report
LONDON -(Dow Jones)- Iran is now ready to sell its crude in any currency instead of just the U.S. dollar, the currency of choice for the oil trade, the ISNA news agency reported Friday, citing central bank chief Mahmoud Bahmani.
"Transactions will be possible with any currency," ISNA quoted Bahmani as saying.
He didn't say if that means Iran could ban the dollar or the euro in oil transactions, amid increased sanctions from the West over its nuclear program.
But Bahmani confirmed oil transactions could be conducted in dirhams from the United Arab Emirates or in Chinese yuan. "Perhaps every country wants to use its own currency in trade--we accept this and we do this," he said.
Iran is the second largest oil exporter in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries after Saudi Arabia.
The statement comes after First Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi was quoted as saying Iran could bar the dollar and euro in oil trading in retaliation for sanctions.
-By Benoit Faucon, Dow Jones Newswires; +44-20-7842-9266; benoit.faucon@ dowjones.com
