Page 16 - IRANRptJun18

Iranian officials said they hoped the reporting currency move would encourage enterprises to switch to the euro in place of the dollar in foreign trading.
The government halted the rial's devaluation by essentially banning free market trading in the IRR by uniting the unofficial and official hard currency rates of the rial and making it unlawful to trade at any other rate.
According to new regulations seen as rushed together as officials raced to combat what they claimed was a US plot to undermine the currency , all international foreign currency transactions must be placed inside a government portal called NIMA, where companies blind bid on buying foreign currency reserves for import and export purposes. In response, several international firms in Iran have announced a halt to imports given the overall confusion.
5.1.1 current account dynamics
Iran current account, USD mn
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
Balance of payments overall
-947
21,436
12,213
13,189
8,561
2,233
Current account balance
27,554
58,507
23,362
25,105
15,861
1,237
16,388
Current account balance: % of GDP
5.66
10.08
3.87
5.43
3.12
0.32
3.92
Current account: Goods
37,330
67,779
28,563
29,326
21,392
5,354
20,843
Current account: Exports
112,788
145,806
97,296
92,910
86,471
64,597
83,978
Current account: Imports
75,458
78,027
68,734
63,584
65,079
52,419
63,135
Current account: Services
-10,040
-9,771
-7,359
-6,820
-6,985
-4,472
-5,941
Current account: Income
79
93
1,649
2,034
943
241
928
Current account: transfers
185
406
509
565
511
427
558
Capital and financial account
-24,296
40,741
-22,161
-22,510
-8,002
113
/
Errors and omissions
-3,259
-17,766
-1,201
-2,595
-5,635
-1,350
-5,766
Source: CEIC, Central Bank of Iran
Iran’s current account surplus climbs in 2017
Iran reported a current account surplus of $16,388mn in 2017, according to CEIC data. Iran’s current account surplus rose to 3.9% of GDP in 2017 from 0.3% in 2016.
The large increase in the current account surplus is because Iran is back in the spotlight after the nuclear deal last year, attracting more foreign direct investment mostly in the oil sector. Oil exports have increased significantly due to an increase in oil production.
5.1.2 Import/export dynamics
Iran’s non-oil exports grow 22% in first two months of Persian year
Iran’s exports of non-oil products grew 22% y/y in the first two months of the 2018/2019 Persian calendar year (began March 21), registering a $942mn positive balance, the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA) reported on May 28. Exports of various commodities, excepting petrochemicals and gas condensates, grew by
16 IRAN Country Report June 2018 www.intellinews.com