Iran's Floating Oil Stockpile Swells to 68 Million Barrels as Discount to China Widens to $5

Following Washington's revocation of its 10-day window for Iranian oil sales on July 7, 2026 (16 Tir 1405), the volume of Iranian crude idling or without a confirmed buyer in Asian waters has climbed to between 58 and 68 million barrels, according to tracking firms Kpler and Vortexa. Bloomberg reported that more than 20 million barrels of that crude have been idling for at least seven days, up nearly 18 percent from the prior week. At the same time, discounts on Iranian Light crude cargoes for July delivery to Chinese buyers widened to 2.50 to 5 dollars a barrel below Brent, compared with about a 1 dollar discount before the short-lived US-Iran arrangement.