Page 17 - IRANRptNov18

Arabia—as well as unspecified groups inside the country said to be fanning the flamesofthestarkcurrencydepreciation.Hardlinenewspaper Kayhan, atitle supported by the Iranian Supreme Leaders’ Office, referred to those inside the country said to be conducting currency manipulation as “traitors”.
Mohammad Shariatmadari, Iran’s industry, mines and business minister, announced that the import bans would apply to a wide variety of items including cars, vans, tractors, powdered milk, bras, cookers, cameras and even musical instruments. Fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) items such as tea bags, ketchup, soap and even pencils are also on the list.
The Iranian authorities are hunkering down for further blows to the rial in coming weeks, with the US continuing to ramp up pressure on any country or company trading with Iran in the wake of its May 8 decision to unilaterally abandon the nuclear deal. The US Treasury Department has given foreign businesses wind-down periods so that they can resolve the status of their operations before sets of sanctions are implemented in August and November.
Nearly all prices of imported goods have roughly doubled over the period. Iranian consumers’ eyes have watered at the sight of new price tags on electronics and vehicles. For instance, the cost of a new Hyundai Elantra small sedan, assembled in Iran, hit IRR3.45bn (€32,900 at the June 25 unofficial exchange rate), double the original price it was marketed for when it made its market debut last year.
Iranian deputy minister of industry, mines and business Mojtaba Khosrotaj said that the government was freezing import market channels at the instruction of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in order to support local production. “Imports of some goods will be restricted by increasing customs duties while certain other goods will be altogether banned from imports,” Khosrotaj, who also acts as chairman of the Trade Promotion Organization of Iran (TPO), was quoted as saying by IRNA.
Concern about the rial’s nosedive and further vulnerability has prompted ordinary Iranians to pour money into non-cash assets. Tehran real estate prices are substantially up and Iran’s stock market has jumped 17% since the end of May to a record high, Reuters reported. Prices of gold coins, meanwhile, have also risen sharply.
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
17 IRAN Country Report November 2018 www.intellinews.com