Annual inflation rate reaches 61.4% in fourth month of calendar year: CBI
Iran's annual inflation rate rose to 61.4% in the 12 months ending in the fourth month of the Iranian year, which ran from June 22 to July 22, while point-to-point inflation reached 83.9%, the Central Bank of Iran said on Tuesday.
The central bank said monthly inflation rate, which measures changes in consumer prices from the previous month, was 3.6% during the fourth month of the Iranian year.
The figures differed from those released by the Statistical Center of Iran on Wednesday.
The statistics center said annual inflation rate over the 12 months ending in the fourth month of the Iranian year stood at 66%, while point-to-point inflation, which measures changes in consumer prices compared with the same month a year earlier, reached 87.9%.
It said the consumer price index (CPI) for Iranian households rose to 676.9 in the fourth month of the Iranian year, up 3.1% from the previous month, 87.9% from the same month a year earlier and 66% compared with the corresponding 12-month period a year earlier.
Iran's national currency, the rial, has fallen to record lows amid mounting economic pressure. It has traded at around 1,950,000 rials per US dollar on the open market in recent weeks, compared with about 811,000 a year earlier.
The sharp depreciation has underscored growing strain on the economy, which is already grappling with high inflation and Western sanctions. The country has also remained on a war footing since a US-Israeli coalition launched attacks in late February, particularly targeting civilians and infrastructure during a 40-day conflict.
Unemployment rises to 9.1%
The inflation figures came as separate labor force data released on Wednesday showed Iran's unemployment rate rose to 9.1% in the spring quarter of the Iranian year, 1.8 percentage points higher than a year earlier, while the country's employed population declined by about 450,000 from the same period last year.