Iraq oil revenues lowest since February 2011

Iraq's revenues from oil, which account for the lion's share of the country's income, fell in June to their lowest level in 16 months because of rising local demand, an oil ministry spokesman said on Sunday. "We exported around 72 million barrels, at a rate of 2.403 million barrels per day (bpd), during June," spokesman Assem Jihad told AFP. He put revenues for the month at $6.453 billion, the lowest such figure since February 2011 when the country took in $6.064 billion in oil sales. "Increasing local needs pushed the ministry to allocate additional quantities of production to the local market," Jihad said, adding that "the reduction in revenues was linked with a drop in the price of oil." Oil prices have dipped dramatically since the start of the year -- after having averaged upwards of $110 per barrel in February, New York's main contract for August delivery closed at $84.96 a barrel on Friday. Iraq depends on oil sales for the vast majority of government income. The country currently produces upwards of three million bpd, and Oil Minister Abdelkarim al-Luaybi has said it plans to increase output and exports this year to 3.4 million bpd and 2.6 million bpd respectively.