Page 13 - IRANRptJul18

4.2 Inflation 4.2.1 CPI dynamics
Iran’s CPI in second Persian month edges down to 9.1% y/y
Iran’s consumer price index (CPI) edged down to 9.1% y/y in the second month of the current Persian year (ended May 21) from 9.2% y/y in the first month, the Central Bank of Iran reported on May 26.
High inflation remains a nagging worry in Iran. However, according to the officials which track the CPI, the Rouhani administration has—in the first year of its second term of office—managed to keep inflation in the single digits. That has been achieved despite the precipitous drop of more than 50% in the Iranian rial’s (IRR’s) value against foreign currencies over the past year on the open currency markets. The growing enmity between Iran and the US Trump administration have nevertheless pushed up the dollar, euro and pound sterling against the IRR, leading to prices of everyday household goods rising.
The central bank listed the m/m figures as follows in its latest inflation data: food and beverages +2.5pp, tobacco +2.5pp, clothing and footwear +2.0pp, housing and utilities +0.6pp, home furnishings +3.9pp, health +0.6pp, transport +2.5pp, communications +2.4pp, recreation and culture +4.7pp, education +0.1pp, restaurants and hotels +1.5pp, and miscellaneous goods and services +3.1pp m/m.
The Statistical Centre of Iran (SCI), which publishes its own inflation figures, says Iran’s CPI rate for the 12-month period to May 21 stood at 8%. Inflation in Iran was high in the double digits during the Ahmadinejad administration, which ended in 2013.
13 IRAN Country Report July 2018 www.intellinews.com