61.   The committee approved a new price formula for Iraq on Friday, removing an obstacle to the resumption of Iraqi exports.

62.   The drop followed announcements by major industrialized nations that they would tap their strategic reserves to fill any shortages caused by a halt in Iraqi exports.

63.   The Energy Ministry said Monday it had no comment on the Iraqi export suspension, which was aimed at pressuring Israel to withdraw from the West Bank.

64.   The exact volume of Iraqi exports would be determined by prices on the international market.

65.   The move followed an argument over pricing with the United Nations, which regulates Iraqi exports.

66.   The rise was helped by trader jitters about damage from Tropical Storm Allison and an Iraqi export ban, analysts said.

67.   The U.N. trade sanctions imposed on Iraq for invading Kuwait have for long barred Iraqi exports.

68.   The world body regulates all Iraqi exports.

69.   There were reports this week that Iraqi exports had come to a halt, either because buyers had disappeared or because Iraq was trying to pressure the buyers.

70.   Traders remain skeptical that Iraqi exports will resume in full anytime soon.