Inflation Rate in Iran Shows 'Decrease' for August

The Statistical Center of Iran reported on Sunday, September 1, that the average inflation rate for urban households in the 12 months ending in August has reached 13.8%, indicating a decrease of 0.3% compared to the similar index in July. According to the report from the Statistical Center of Iran's website, the point-to-point inflation, which compares the inflation rate of August this year with August 2014, has reached 11.5%, also showing a decrease of 1.3% compared to this index in July. The Statistical Center of Iran had previously announced the 12-month inflation rate ending in July at 14.1% and the point-to-point inflation for that month at 12.8%. The point-to-point inflation rate in July had also decreased by 1.4%, while this rate in June showed a 0.5% increase compared to May. Based on the report from the Statistical Center of Iran, the monthly inflation in August has reached 0.5%, indicating a decrease of 0.7% compared to July. This decrease means that the inflation rate from July to August this year has not only not increased but has taken a reverse trend. In the previous report from the Statistical Center, this index remained unchanged at 1.2% in July compared to June, while the Central Bank's report showed a decrease of 0.4%. The negative reduction of the monthly inflation rate in July, according to the Central Bank's report, has occurred after 77 months, more than six years. The last time the monthly inflation rate was negative was in February 2009, when the general price level decreased from one month to the next. Iran faced severe inflation and negative economic growth during the last two years of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's presidency. World Bank statistics also indicate that Iran's inflation rate in 2013 was the highest in the world after Venezuela. However, since the coming to power of Hassan Rouhani's government, the inflation rate has gradually decreased from around 35%. The decrease in the inflation rate means a reduction in the speed of rising prices, and despite the recent decrease in this trend in Iran, the country still has one of the highest inflation rates in the world. Fereydoun Khavand, an economist in Paris, told Radio Farda that 'this achievement has a bitter taste because it is accompanied by continued recession.' According to this expert, 'It is true that the country's economy has passed the negative growth rate, but the announced growth rates, at around 2 to 3%, are very low for a developing economy.' In this context, the decrease in prices and the number of transactions in the housing and construction sector, Hassan Rouhani and post-sanction economic challenges, the monthly inflation rate has become negative after six years.