Iran inflation hits 26.1% - central bank
The inflation rate in Iran for the 12-month period that ended on November 22 hit 26.1%, the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) announced on Wednesday, Trend news agency reported referring to Mehr agency.
Experts believe that in recent months, the real rate of inflation in Iran has been over 50%.
"Figures obtained on the ground show that the inflation rate is
over 50% and some unofficial sources even claim that it was 196%,"
ILNA news agency reported, quoting Iranian university lecturer and
economist, Mehdi Taghavi, as saying in October.
Taghavi believes that Iran's currency (the Rial) has lost over 80%
of its value during the past few months.
"While the average economic growth in the Middle-East and North
Africa region is 5%, Iran's economy is shrinking," he said.
Taghavi added that the country's inflation is the highest in the
Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.
In its semi-annual World Economic Outlook, the IMF's forecast of
Iran's gross domestic product would shrink 0.9% this year after 2%
growth in 2011.
Its prediction for this year was a downgrade from a forecast of
0.4% growth in its last report in April. The IMF projected GDP
would expand next year by 0.8%.
The IMF expects inflation to shift to 21.8% in 2013 from 25.2
percent in 2012.