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Barter deals are taking place too in some case to avoid the currency and financing difficulties: "Korean trading companies bring in (steel) billet and the value of that billet gets paid in oil," a Swiss-based trader said. "It's some type of barter."
The steel sector could face more disruption if further U.S. measures under discussion emulate the EU targeting of the metal, said Mark Dubowitz of Washington's Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, who has advised the Obama administration.
"Iran is already experiencing an acute balance of payments crisis, a plummeting currency, and a sharp drop in oil sales," he said, noting that Tehran's steel export ban showed both its vulnerability and determination to try to ride out the crisis.
"The ban on steel exports is a sign that Iran is battening down the hatches, husbanding its foreign-exchange reserves and precious metals like steel, and preparing for a long ordeal."
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