Tehran, Iran, August 21
By Mehdi Sepahvand – Trend:
The Central Bank of Iran (CBI) does not confirm a recent statement that the country’s economic growth is currently 4.4 percent.
A recent statement putting the growth rate at 4.4 percent was based on data provided by Iran Statistics Center, not the CBI, the bank’s public relations told Trend August 21.
President Hassan Rouhani had said August 14 that the country’s economic growth hit 4.4 percent in the first quarter of the Iranian calendar year (starting on March 20).
“The government began its work at a time when the country’s economic growth was minus 6.8 percent but now it stands at 4.4 percent for the first three months of the year,” Rouhani had said.
The president said the growth comes despite the fact that oils prices have been brought down by “enemies of the Revolution.”
Crude, a main commodity in Iran’s exports and a major contributor to its economy, hovers around $44 per barrel, a huge drop compared to years when it was largely traded in the $90–$120 range. In the middle of 2014, prices started declining in a Saudi-initiated downward race.