Additional reporting by Mark Ford

The UN Security Council Committee on Sanctions Against Iraq has authorised the opening of a euro-denominated account so that Iraq will soon be able to price its oil for sale under the UN's oil-for-food programme in euros. In return, Iraq has said it will wait until 6 November before insisting that customers issue letters of credit or make other arrangements for payments Iraqi crude in euros instead of US dollars. A UN report has said Baghdad would need to reduce the price of Iraqi oil by around US$ 0.10 to compensate buyers for the additional costs.

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