Despite Ali Khamenei’s announcement of the year 1402 as the “year of inflation control,” a new report from the Iranian Statistical Center shows that the “point-to-point inflation rate” in the month of Azar has once again increased to over 40%, breaking the record for monthly inflation since Ordibehesht, and the monthly inflation rate for food items is increasing dramatically.
According to the Iranian Statistical Center, in Azar 1402, consumer inflation reached 40.2%. This is while the same center had reported a point-to-point inflation rate of 39.2% in Aban, indicating an increase of at least one percent in Azar compared to Aban.
The term “point-to-point inflation” refers to the percentage change in the price index compared to the same month of the previous year. The fact that this index reached 40.2% in Azar 1402 means that Iranian households spent an average of 40.2% more than in Azar 1401 to purchase an “identical bundle of goods and services.”
Another index that has seen an increase in Azar is “monthly inflation.” The monthly inflation rate was reported as 2.2% in Aban this year, but in Azar, it increased by 0.7% to 2.9%.
“Monthly inflation” refers to the percentage change in the price index compared to the previous month of the same year and can indicate an upward trend in inflation rates in the coming months.
The Iranian Statistical Center had previously reported the monthly inflation rate as 2.8% in Ordibehesht, 2% in Khordad and Tir, 2.4% in Mordad, 2% in Shahrivar, 2.3% in Mehr, and 2.2% in Aban.
Therefore, with the increase of “monthly inflation” to 2.9% in Azar, the record for “monthly inflation” from Ordibehesht until now has been broken.
At the same time, the rate of “monthly inflation for food and beverages” also saw a significant increase in Azar, rising from 1% in Aban to 4.1%.
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Previously, the Iranian Statistical Center had reported the “monthly inflation for food and beverages” in Mehr 1401 as half a percent. This index doubled to 1% in Aban this year and then soared to 4.1% in Azar.
The increase in “monthly inflation” and also “monthly inflation for food and beverages” indicates increased pressure on low-income individuals and households with fixed incomes. Thus, Ibrahim Raisi’s government’s promises about “controlling inflation” have not been fulfilled in practice.
However, the Iranian Statistical Center’s report on Azar’s inflation also mentioned that the “annual inflation rate” in this month decreased by half a percent, from 44.9% to 44.4%.
The “annual inflation rate” in Azar 1400, the first year of Ibrahim Raisi’s government, was 43.4%, indicating that the annual inflation rate in Azar 1402 is one percent higher than in Azar 1400.
The increase in “point-to-point inflation” and “monthly inflation” in Azar compared to the previous month, as well as the increase in the “annual inflation rate” in this month compared to Azar 1400, the first year of Ibrahim Raisi’s government, is evident, despite Ali Khamenei’s naming of the year 1402 as the “year of inflation control, production growth.”
After Khamenei’s naming of the year 1402, Raisi’s government first promised to control the inflation rate, and in the next step, they tried to restrict access to economic statistics and indices in Iran from public and economic experts. This move has not yielded results after nine months of the year. As a result of the rapid increase in “monthly inflation,” especially “monthly inflation for food items,” people are once again facing another wave of price hikes, making life more difficult for them in the final months of the year.