Iran’s economy shrank 1.9% last calendar year: c. bank

The Central Bank of Iran has confirmed that the national economy, including the oil sector, contracted by 1.9 percent in the Iranian calendar year 1392 (March 2013-March 2014).
 
The Iranian economy’s shrank by 1.1 percent excluding the oil sector, the Mehr news agency reported on Wednesday.
 
According to the International Monetary Fund, President Hassan Rouhani’s policies of cutting energy subsidies along with the easing of international sanctions have helped to steady Iran’s economy and slash inflation.
 
“The process of stabilization has taken hold and we do see the results already in a dramatic improvement in inflation,” Masood Ahmed, director of the IMF’s Middle East and Central Asia department, said.
 
Iran’s $400 billion economy is forecast to expand 1.5 percent this year according to the Fund, after two years of contraction. 
 
On July 26, the administration of President Rouhani unveiled its new economic policy package, ending the country’s stagflation as one of its main goals.
 
This package of economic policies identifies the shortfall in financial resources, the slump in domestic demand, and the decline in investment, as well as the unjust sanctions imposed by the West, as the main obstacles faced by the country's economy.