PMI Plummets 3.5%

The overall Purchasing Managers’ Index, known by its Farsi acronym Shamekh, for Iran's economy settled at 48.41 in the month ending June 20 down from 50.17 in the earlier month, indicating 1.76 points or 3.51% contraction.
A report by the Statistics and Economic Analysis Center of the Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture, the sponsor and coordinator of the survey, blamed the rise in raw material prices for the third consecutive month due to the tanking of the rial against foreign currencies as the main factor behind the contraction in the third month of the current fiscal year (May 21-June 20). 
The headline PMI is a number from 0 to 100, such that over 50 shows expansion of the economy compared to the previous month. A PMI reading under 50 indicates contraction and a reading of 50 implies no change.