Offers of Iranian crude to Chinese buyers have declined for September and October deliveries, while prices have risen sharply after the U.S. re-imposed a blockade of Iran’s shipping and ports on July 13. Trade sources said some Iranian crude, usually sold at discounts, was offered at premiums to ICE Brent futures (a global oil price benchmark), including about $2 a barrel, compared with a discount of around $3 for Iranian Light earlier this week and a month earlier. Iranian crude in floating storage has fallen to about 80 million barrels from roughly 105 million before the blockade was reinstated. Kpler estimated that 40 million barrels remained on ships in Malaysian waters east of Singapore, although most had already been promised to buyers, while two sources estimated only about 30 million barrels remained in Asian waters. The supply squeeze is affecting China’s independent Shandong refiners, known as teapots, which account for about a fifth of the country’s refining capacity and are major buyers of sanctioned oil. China’s imports of Iranian crude fell to 785,000 barrels per day in June, likely rose to 823,000 bpd in July and dropped to 534,000 bpd in August so far, compared with an average of 1.4 million bpd last year. Analysts say Chinese refiners are considering alternative supplies from Brazil and Iraq, although additional sanctions may not significantly deter purchases by plants that have previously continued processing Iranian oil.