Iran's major industries staged a relatively weak performance during the first quarter of the current fiscal year that ended on June 21 in terms of production, latest data published by the Ministry of Cooperatives, Labor and Social Welfare indicate.
The Industrial Production Index of Iran's agricultural and industrial sectors saw a year-on-year decline during the fiscal year's Q1 while the mining sector registered a small growth, according to figures published by the ministry's Center of Statistics.
By the end of this year's Q1, IPI of Iran's agricultural sector reached 84. That figure was higher by 35.7% compared with the final quarter of the previous fiscal year that ended on March 20, 2018, when the sector's IPI stood at 61.9.
However, when compared with the corresponding period of the year before, the sector's IPI signaled a decline of 1.3% as the number for the current fiscal year's Q1 was 85.1.
In the industrial sector, the Q1 IPI reached 93, indicating a contraction of 9.8% compared with last year's Q4 IPI of 103.1. Compared to last year's Q1, the production index also fell by 1%, as the sector's IPI stood at 93.9 last year.
In the mining sector, excluding oil and natural gas, the production index was at 98.4, up by 1.5% compared to the 97 index of last year's Q4 and up by 2% compared with last year's Q1 figure of 96.5.
> Yearly Perspective
In a one-year perspective, production in Iran's agricultural sector first fell noticeably by the final quarter of the fiscal 2017-18 only to rebound to levels slightly lower than the first quarter of the same year during the first quarter of the current year.
Production in the mining and industrial sectors showed a different behavior, as it first grew by the end of last year and then contracted slightly by the end of the current fiscal year's Q1.
IPI is a key economic indicator in most countries and among the most significant short-term economic indicators among official data. The index provides policymakers with important figures that will guide their hand in drafting policies for the future and inform their forecasts of the economy.
The index evaluates and showcases changes in the amount of goods and services produced in various sectors. Of note, the index deals with quantity, meaning that it is not affected by price fluctuations, something Iran's economy has been dealing with for the past month due to a currency crisis spurred by the reimposition of US sanctions.
