Inflation in January exceeded 46 percent

The Statistical Center of Iran says that the spot inflation rate peaked at 46.2 percent in January 2020.

Point inflation means the increase in the price of a set of goods and services in a given month compared to the same month the previous year.

The details of the Statistics Center's report, published on its website, show that the point inflation rate for the major group of "food, beverages, and tobacco" has reached nearly 60 percent, and the inflation rate for the group of "non-food goods and services" has reached about 40 percent.

Thus, the growth rate of food prices has been higher than that of non-food goods and services.

The inflation rate in Iran was in single digits until May 2018, but since then, both the exchange rate and inflation have skyrocketed.

Over the past four months, the headline inflation rate has consistently been above 40 percent.

The dollar rate, which was 16,000 tomans at the beginning of this solar year, peaked at 32,000 tomans in mid-autumn, but then began to decline again, and on Monday of this week it fell to 21,000 tomans. Since then, it has been on the rise again, reaching around 23,000 tomans on Wednesday, February 1.

The increase in the exchange rate along with liquidity is one of the most important factors in the growth of prices of goods and services.

Among food items, the highest price growth was for bread and cereals (62.2 percent), dairy products (73.4 percent), and fruits and nuts (78.8 percent). In the services sector, the highest price growth was for transportation, which increased by 62.5 percent.

Detailed statistics also show that inflation was higher in rural areas than in cities.

The growth in prices of goods and services in rural areas during January of this year was 49.8 percent compared to the same month last year, while this figure was 45.5 percent for urban residents.

Annual inflation

The Statistics Center report also says that the annual inflation rate (12 months ending in January compared to the same period last year) has reached 32.2 percent.

Iran has one of the highest annual inflation rates in the world.

International Monetary Fund statistics show that Iran has the highest inflation rate in the world this year, after Sudan, Zimbabwe, Venezuela, and Suriname, and next solar year, it will have the highest inflation in the world, after Sudan and South Sudan, Venezuela, and Suriname.

In 2019, Iran had the highest inflation rate in the world, after Argentina, Venezuela, Sudan, South Sudan, and Suriname.

Source: Radio Farda