Iran's inflation hits 26.1 per cent

Inflation in Iran has hit 26.1 per cent, although experts believe the real figure to be over 50 per cent, as the rial nose-dived earlier this year.

The inflation rate in Iran for the 12-month period [2]that ended on November 22nd hit 26.1%, the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) announced on Wednesday, the Mehr News Agency reported.Experts believe that in recent months, the real rate of inflation in Iran has been over 50%. [3]

"Figures obtained on the ground show that the inflation rate is over 50% and ‎some unofficial sources even claim that it was 196%," The ILNA reported, quoting Iranian university lecturer and ‎economist, Mehdi ‎Taghavi, as saying in October.Taghavi believes that Iran's currency (the Rial) has lost over 80% of its value ‎during the past few months. ‎ [4]‎"While the average economic growth in the Middle-East and North Africa region is ‎‎5%, Iran's economy is shrinking ," he said ‎Taghavi added that the country's inflation is the highest in MENA region‏.‏In its semi-annual World Economic Outlook, the IMF's forecast of Iran's gross domestic product ‎would shrink 0.9% this year after 2% growth in 2011.‎Its prediction for this year was a downgrade from a forecast of 0.4% growth in its last ‎report in April. The IMF projected GDP would expand next year by 0.8%.‎The IMF expects inflation to shift to 21.8% in 2013 from 25.2 percent in 2012; ‎many private economists, however, think inflation is well over 30%.‎

Official inflation is at 26.1 per cent, but some experts claim it could be between 50 and 196 per cent