Tehran, Iran, Dec. 24
By Milad Fashtami - Trend:
Iran's President Hassan Rouhani said that the government managed to decrease inflation significantly in the past 16 months.
"We have managed to decrease the inflation to 17 percent from the previous figure of 40 percent [at the end of the previous administration's term]," Iran's state IRINN TV reported on Dec. 24.
It was reported previously that the inflation rate for the 12-month period to the eighth Iranian calendar month (ended on November 21) hit 17.8 percent.
President Rouhani has vowed to decrease the inflation rate to 5 percent in the [Iranian calendar] year of 1395 (to end on March 20, 2017).
Rouhani went on to note that the country's economic growth was 4 percent in the first half of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21 - September 22).
"The country faced negative economic growth for two consecutive years, but Iran is now on the track of positive growth," Rouhani added.
President Rouhani previously said that the government's goal is to increase the country's economic growth up to 6 percent by the end of current year (March 20, 2015).
According to the International Monetary Fund, Iran's economic growth rate will hit 1.5 percent in the current year.
Masood Ahmed, the director of the IMF's Middle East and Central Asia Department, said in August that the country's economic growth rate will increase to 1.5 percent after two years of contraction.
"The inflation rate in Iran has decreased, and the foreign currency exchange rates have been stabilized as a result of effective policies taken by President Rouhani's administration," he said.
The official further added that the government's policies are aimed to improve monetary and fiscal policies and enhance efficiency and productivity in different sectors.
In April, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said Iran's economy had contracted by 1.7 percent in 2013. However, the economy will come out of recession in 2014, the report added.