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4.2.2PPI dynamics
Iran’s autumn PPI turns negative for first time in four years
PMI for Iran falls into contraction territory
Iran’s producer price inflation (PPI) stood at -2.3% in the autumn period (September 23-December 21, 2019), marking the first negative reading for four years, the Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (ICCIMA) announced on February 1.
According to the data—compiled by the Statistical Center of Iran (SCI)—the lowest figure was recorded for the coal industry and oil refineries (-10.7%). Next were paper and paper products (-4.6%) and petrochemicals (-2%).
The highest inflation rates in industry were for office and computing appliances (26.6%), garment production, processing, and dying (9.5%) and transportation equipment production (7.8%).
A purchasing managers’ index (PMI) provided by the Iran Chamber gives the Islamic Republic a reading of 45.79 in the fifth Persian calendar month (ended August 22) compared to 50.07 in the preceding month and 50.66 in the month before that.
With any figure below 50 indicating a contraction, the decline in the PMI figures can only be taken as another indication of the deleterious heavy sanctions campaign being waged against Iran by the US. Credit inside the country remains tight for lending, meanwhile, and the long hot summer in Iran is said to have hit demand across multiple sectors, impacting many factories.
Iran Chamber (full name Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture) publishes PMI data for industry overall and 12 of its subfields. It has plans to expand its PMI coverage to sectors including agriculture at a later date.
During the fifth calendar month, plastic and rubber production in Iran posted the highest PMI registering 56.3. Wood, paper and furnishings posted the lowest score, at 35.9.
Looking at index components, output and new and contributed to the month-on-month decrease in the headline PMI figure, while suppliers' delivery times and employment scores improved.
The reading for exports in the fifth month fell from to 44.65 from 46.84.
17 IRAN Country Report August 2020 www.intellinews.com
