Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 23
By Rahim Zamanov - Trend:
On November 23 Iran's First Vice President, Is'haq Jahangiri apologized to all Iranians who are facing severe financial difficulties and whose purchase power has been reduced significantly.
"The government's performance in the previous calendar year (which ended on March 20) was not acceptable at all," the Mehr News Agency quoted Jahangiri as saying.
"Iran's inflation in the previous year was 41 percent, while the country's economic growth stood at -5.1 percent," he said.
"The figures were unprecedented in the past 50 years," Jahangiri added.
"Many Iranians are facing difficulties due to high inflation, but they should know that administration is trying hard to solve the problems," he said.
The administration's spokesman Mohammad-Baqer Nobakht said on November 20 that the inflation rate in Iran is projected to fall to below 30 percent in the next Iranian calendar year, which began on March 21.
"Although the situation is not ideal, the administration will make every effort to reduce the inflation rate," he said, adding that the inflation rate should become single digit.
The Statistical Center of Iran has announced that the inflation rate for the 12-month period ended the seventh Iranian calendar month of Mehr (September 23-October 22) hit 36.2 percent, a 0.2 percent rise compared to the previous month, Tehran Times reported.
The figure shows 11.4 percent growth compared to the corresponding figure in the previous year.
Meanwhile, the point-to-point inflation rate hit 32.2 percent.
On October 27, Finance and Economic Affairs Minister Ali Tayyebnia said that Iran plans to reduce inflation rate by 6-7 percent by the end of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20, 2014).
Through curbing the runaway liquidity growth in the country, the inflation rate is hoped to be decreased, he added, ISNA reported.
The Central Bank Governor Valiollah Seif said he will focus on controlling liquidity and bringing down inflation as President Hassan Rouhani has agreed to separate monetary and fiscal policies, giving the bank more independence.
Seif said President Hassan Rouhani inherited an economy in recession as international sanctions against the country weakened its currency and accelerated inflation to about 40 percent in September.