Trump says oil supply elsewhere sufficient to allow cut in Iran purchases

Reuters
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the media as he departs for a campaign rally in Fort Myers, Florida, on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, U.S., October 31, 2018. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday in a presidential memorandum that he had determined there was sufficient supply of petroleum and petroleum products from nations other than Iran to permit a reduction in purchases from that country. The memorandum, addressing the secretaries of State, Treasury and Energy, comes days ahead of the administration's renewed sanctions on Iranian oil exports, planned to come into effect on Nov. 5. (Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk, Lesley Wroughton, Arshad Mohammed, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien)