Azernews.Az

By Sara Rajabova

Despite Iranian officials' statements that international economic sanctions imposed on Iran are not effective, the recent situation in the country's economy indicates an opposite trend.

Thus, although the government is working to curb price hikes, the inflation rate in the country continues to rise.

The Central Bank of Iran has announced that the inflation rate for the 12-month period that ended in the third Iranian calendar month of Khordad (June 21, 2013) compared to the same period in the previous year hit 35.9 percent, Mehr news agency reported.

Meanwhile, the Statistical Centre of Iran has put the inflation rate for the mentioned period at 32.6 percent.

In June, the Central Bank of Iran Governor Mahmoud Bahmani said that the country would curb inflation through three financial policies.

"By selling bonds and gold coins as well as reducing liquidity, we hope to curb inflation," Bahmani said.

Iran's average monthly inflation rate was 25.4 percent during the previous Iranian calendar year, which ended on March 20.

Iranian Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi said last month that considering the implementation of a subsidy reform plan and the sanctions against Iran, the current inflation rate of 30.5 percent is satisfactory.

However, experts say that the real rate of inflation in Iran differs from the one cited in official data and has exceeded 50 percent in recent months. According to the experts, Iran's inflation is the highest in the Middle East and North Africa region.

In April, the International Monetary Fund reported that Iran's economy contracted by 1.9 percent in 2012 and is expected to shrink by 1.3 percent this year.

However, the economy of Iran is forecast to grow next year by 1.1 percent, the IMF said in its annual World Economic Outlook.

On the other hand, the number of jobless people in Iran has increased by 270,000 over the past eight years (March 2005-March 2013).

In an unprecedented decision, the administration of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has instructed the banking sector to allocate 650 trillion rials (about $26 billion) for job creation plans in the current Iranian calendar year, which began on March 21.

State-run and private banks have been required to allocate 430 trillion rials and 70 trillion rials, respectively. Moreover, 100 trillion rials will be allocated by the National Development Fund and 50 trillion rials will be paid as interest-free loans.

The value of the country's currency, the rial, fell by 40 percent in 2012.