Iran’s vice-president: Inflation rate of 30.5 pct is satisfactory
Considering the implementation of a subsidy reform plan and the sanctions against Iran, the current inflation rate of 30.5 per cent is satisfactory, Iranian Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi said.
"We had previously witnessed an inflation rate of over 40 per cent even when there were no sanctions against the country, so the current rate of 30.5 per cent is acceptable, Mehr news agency quoted Rahimi as saying.
The government planned to implement the second phase of the subsidy reform plan to compensate for the price hikes, but unfortunately the second phase was halted, he explained.
That's why the experts believe the real rate of inflation in Iran is over 50 per cent in the recent months.
"The figures obtained on the spot show that the inflation rate is over 50 per cent and some unofficial sources even claim it was 196 per cent," Iranian university lecturer and economist, Mehdi Taghavi, previously said, ILNA news agency reported.
Taghavi believes that the Iran's currency (rial) has lost over 80 per cent of its value during the past few months.
"While the average economic growth in the Middle-East and North Africa region was 5 per cent, Iran's economy is shrinking," he said.
Taghavi added that the country's inflation is the highest in MENA region.