Washington
Global crude prices could rise 20 to 30 per cent if Iran halts oil exports as a result of US and European Union sanctions, the International Monetary Fund said yesterday.
In its first public comment on a possible Iranian oil supply disruption, the IMF said financial sanctions against Tehran may be "tantamount to an oil embargo" and would imply supply declines of about 1.5 million barrels per day from the world's fifth-largest oil producer.

That volume of supply disruption would be comparable to losses in output from Libya last year due to civil war that pushed oil prices over $100 a barrel.
The IMF highlighted the risks in a note to deputies from G20 countries who met in Mexico City last week.
Iran has threatened to block the Strait of Hormuz shipping route, through which flows 20pc of oil traded globally.
The comments add pressure to the Obama administration as it tries to get countries to reduce shipments of Iranian oil without pushing prices higher ahead of the November US presidential election.