The Central Bank of Iran's Governor Mahmoud Bahmani predicted that the country's inflation rate in the first Iranian calendar month of Farvardin (ended April 20) would reach 13.5 percent.
He rejected speculations by some economists that the country's inflation rate would surge in the second month of the year, saying that the inflation rate in the past Iranian calendar year 1389 (ended March 20) hit 12.4 percent, Mehr news agency reported.
Reuters quoted the head of the Central Bank of Iran, Mahmoud Bahmani, as saying in January that the country aimed to bring inflation down to 4 percent.
The government began slashing $20 billion of subsidies from December 19 despite warnings by economists and critics who noted it could lead to huge rises in prices of goods which were heavily subsidized, including gasoline, electricity and natural gas.