The Consumer Price Index of “health and medical treatment” stood at 376 in the fourth month of the current Iranian year (June 22-July 22), which indicates a 6.1% increase compared to the previous month.
The monthly rise in prices of this group was the highest among 12 groups of goods and services surveyed by the Statistical Center of Iran.
The index registered an increase of 36.6% compared with the similar month of last year.
The group’s annualized inflation was registered at 35.7%.
The 12 groups of the basket of consumer goods and services purchased by households include "food and beverages" with a coefficient of 26.64%, "tobacco" with 0.59%, "clothing and shoes" with 4.78%, "housing, water, electricity, natural gas and other fuels" with 35.5% (highest), "furniture, home appliances and their maintenance" with 3.93%, "health and treatment" with 7.14%, "transportation" with 9.41%, "communications" with 2.87%, "leisure and culture" with 1.65%, "education" with 1.86%, "hotels and restaurants" with 1.44% and "miscellaneous items and services" with 4.18%.
The general goods and services Consumer Price Index (using the Iranian year to March 2017 as the base year) stood at 504.3 in the month to July 22 to register a record high of 54% compared to the similar period of last year.
The month-on-month and annualized inflation stood at 4.6% and 40.5% respectively.
CPI hit 494.7 for urban households and 557.6 for rural households, indicating a month-on-month increase of 4.8% and 4.6%, respectively.
SCI put the annualized inflation for urban and rural areas at 40% and 43.2%, respectively.
The year-on-year inflation stood at 52.8% for urban areas and 60.7% for rural areas in the month.
The rise in prices of goods and services accelerated at an unprecedented pace after the government decided to overhaul the import subsidy system.
The government move saw the abolition of the controversial practice of allocating cheap dollars at the rate of 42,000 rials per dollar, locally known as the Preferential Foreign Currency, to import essential goods, including corn, soymeal, unprocessed oil, oilseeds and barley, in addition to wheat, flour and medicine.
The market value of the dollar is above 300,000 rials now.
“Until now, we have been paying to producers [read importers] but now the subsidies go to consumers. In fact, the Preferential Foreign Currency has not been ceased, rather the allocation method has changed,” President Ebrahim Raisi said in a televised speech on the eve of the introduction of the move in May.
In his speech, Raisi emphasized that the removal of cheap dollar allocation will not lead to a price rise in wheat, flour and medicine. However, the move has led to a dramatic rise in the prices of essential goods.
In fact, the prices of all commodities and services have also risen suddenly in a ripple effect.
Also known as necessity or basic goods, essential goods are products consumers will buy, regardless of changes in income levels.
