Iran's foreign debt reached $8.6 billion

Statistics published by the Central Bank show that Iran's foreign debt reached $8.655 billion at the end of the first quarter of 2020.

According to Mehr News Agency, these new statistics indicate that the country's current account balance in the external sector reached minus $622 million during the first quarter of 2020.

Accordingly, the trade balance, or the goods account, has become negative by $212 million, with exports of goods reaching $8.938 billion and imports reaching $9.15 billion.

The International Monetary Fund has predicted that the Iranian government's external debt for this year will be $11.6 billion.

Last year, this figure was around $10 billion in the International Monetary Fund report, which, incidentally, is also mentioned in the Central Bank of Iran's statistics.

As economic growth declines and Iranian government debt soars, the Islamic Republic has requested a $5 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund to combat the coronavirus.

The International Monetary Fund says that the Islamic Republic of Iran's accessible foreign exchange reserves will be less than $9 billion this year, compared to around $122 billion in 2018.

Source: Radio Farda