Iran’s economy expanded 4% in year to late March: CBI

CBI figures released on Monday showed that Iran’s gross domestic product (GDP) had reached 15,154 trillion rials ($409.5 billion) in the year to March 20, up from 14,571.4 trillion rials reported for the year to March 2022.

The CBI uses fixed prices reported in 2016 as a baseline for its GDP calculation. The US dollar was worth an average of 37,000 against the Iranian rial over that year, much lower than a current market price of 480,000 rials.

The CBI said in a short note that growth in Iran’s manufacturing activity was responsible for a major part, around 1.4%, of the rise in the country’s GDP in the year to late March.

It added that wholesale, retail, motor vehicle maintenance, transportation, petroleum and communications sectors were other best performers of the Iranian economy over the past calendar year.

Figures in the report showed that the Iranian oil sector GDP had increased by 10% to 1,272.2 trillion rials in the year to late March.

The non-oil sector of the Iranian economy also expanded by 4.7% over the period compared to the previous year, it said.

Iran recorded its highest quarterly GDP growth in the quarter to late March when the GDP reached 3,596.8 trillion rials, up 5.3% from the same quarter in 2022.

Economic growth figures reported by the CBI and the Statistical Center of Iran have been verified and corroborated by major international economic institutions, including the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

Those institutions have admitted that the Iranian government’s economic policies and the fiscal and monetary policies adopted by the CBI have enabled the country to resist the continued pressure of US sanctions.

MNA/PressTV