Iran aims for inflation of 9.5% by 2027

TEHRAN: The interim director of the Monetary and Banking Research Institute of the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) has said the country aims to achieve inflation of 9.5 percent and liquidity growth of 13.8 percent by the end of the seventh National Development Plan (2023-2027).

At a meeting on the country's macroeconomic strategies on Monday, Kourosh Parvizian said: “The law of the seventh national development plan provides the goals and measures for reforming the banking system in order to achieve the liquidity growth of 13.8 percent and the inflation rate of 9.5 percent set out in the plan.”

The meeting, which focused on economic governance, was also attended by Mohammad Shirijian, CBI Deputy Governor for Monetary Policy, Nasser Khiyabani, Faculty Member of Allameh Tabatabai University, Teymour Rahmani, Faculty Member of Tehran University, and Peyman Ghorbani, Deputy Head of Nations Credit Institute.

Discussion of the main reasons for inflation in the Iranian economy and the role and position of monetary and fiscal policies in controlling inflation were the main topics of the meeting held by the Central Bank's Monetary and Banking Research Institute.

Rahmani also mentioned the economic growth targeted in the seventh National Development Plan at the meeting, saying, “Given the economic reality, we should not insist on achieving eight percent growth in the seventh plan. Today, the country's priority in the economic sector should be to control inflation. However, governments are never suggested to reduce inflation quickly, but they should bring the inflation rate to a balanced range close to 14 or 15 percent, which is bearable.”

“Without controlling and containing inflation, economic growth of eight percent will undoubtedly not be achieved. And since the Iranian economy is highly dependent on raw materials and oil revenues play an important role in the country's economic growth, it will be difficult to increase the current growth of four or five percent to eight percent in the short term,” he added.

EF/MA