Azerbaijan, Baku, Oct.5 /Trend R.Zamanov/
Iran's inflation hit the surprising figure of 40 percent in the sixth calendar month of the current Iranian calendar year (August 23-September 22), Iran's minister of Economic Affairs and Finance Ali Tayyebnia said on Saturday.
"However, the point-to-point inflation dropped slightly," the ISNA News Agency quoted Tayyebnia as saying.
"The country's liquidity was over 4,900 trillion rials (some $163.33 billion based on the rate of USD at the free market)," he added.
Meanwhile, the Statistical Center of Iran has announced that the inflation rate for the 12-month period to the sixth Iranian calendar month (which ended on September 22) compared to the same period in the previous year hit 36 percent.
The point-to-point inflation of the sixth month stood at 37 percent, 1.4 percent less than the previous year, the Mehr News Agency reported.
Iran's average monthly inflation rate was 25.4 percent during the previous Iranian calendar year, which ended on March 20.
In April, the International Monetary Fund reported that Iran's economy contracted by 1.9 percent in 2012 and is expected to shrink by 1.3 percent this year.
However, the economy of the Islamic Republic is forecasted to grow next year by 1.1 percent, the IMF said in its annual World Economic Outlook.
Former Governor of the Central Bank of Iran Mahmoud ahmani said in June that the country would curb inflation through three financial policies.
"By selling bonds and gold coins as well as reducing liquidity, we hope to curb inflation," Bahmani stated.