Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 26
By Gazenfer Hamidov – Trend:
Inflation rate in Iran’s urban areas for the 12-month period to the 11th Iranian calendar month of Bahman (ended on Feb. 20) hit 9.9 percent, registering a 0.1 percent fall compared to the preceding month, the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) said Feb. 24.
So, the country’s inflation rate has decreased to one-digit figure again after experiencing two months of 10 percent rate. The inflation rate in Iran in recent months was in fluctuation around 10 percent.
The inflation rate in Iran in 2005 was about 10.4 percent, but it climbed above 37 percent, before President Hassan Rouhani came to power in mid-2013. Nonetheless, for the first time over the past 26 years, that figure declined into a single-digit row, bottoming out at 8.6 percent in June 2016.
Meanwhile the CBI has put the figure at 9.9, the Statistical Center of Iran in its latest report put the inflation rate for the same period at 8.2 percent, 0.1 percent more compared to its figure for last month.
So, there is a 1.7 percent difference between the figures unveiled by the two official Iranian entities.
The announced inflation rate between the two organizations has been different in recent months and the Statistical Center's inflation rate has been lower than that of the Central Bank.
The Central Bank also said that setting the Iranian fiscal year 1395 (March 21, 2016 to March 20, 2017) as the main one, that is 1395=100, the consumer price index (CPI) in Iran’s urban areas stood at 113.4 units in the 11th month of the current fiscal year, which is 0.9 percent more than in the preceding month.
The figure shows an annual growth of 9.4 percent.
The index for foods and drinks shows an increase by 1.3 percent compared to the preceding month and a growth rate of 11.5 percent compared to the same time of last year, according to the CBI.
The index for tobacco registered a rise by 0.6 percent compared to the preceding month and a growth rate of 1.8 percent when compared to the same time last year.
The index for clothes and health care increased by 5.4 and 8.7 percent year-on-year, meanwhile the index for housing, electricity and fuels witnessed an 8.8 percent increase.
The education sector registered the highest annual growth among the index subgroups (14.1 percent).
The annual increase for ICT, transportation and service sectors stood at 1.7, 6.8 and 9.7 percent, respectively.
The Iranian Parliament Research Center has forecasted that Iran’ inflation rate in next fiscal year (to start March 20, 2018) will become 11.5 percent.
The center also estimated that the inflation rate for the current fiscal year (started March 2017) will be 10.5 percent.