The monthly Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the month ending Jan. 20 hit its lowest level in 42 months, Alireza Moghtadaiee, the head of economic statistics office of the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) announced on Monday, IRNA reported. Consumer prices in urban areas stood at 16.3 percent in the 12 months ending January 20, according to the CBI. The CPI at the end of the period was 212.3 points, showing a 0.3 percent rise compared to one month before, and 15.7 percent rise compared to the same month last year, the report said on Saturday.
CPI measures changes in the price of a basket of consumer goods and services purchased by households. Meanwhile, the CBI has set itself a target of bringing the inflation rate to below 14 percent in the next Persian calendar year (starting March 21), Akbar Komijani, the deputy governor of the CBI said on the sidelines of the 4th annual conference on electronic banking and payment systems on Monday.
He underscored that decreasing inflation is a painstaking process and demands strict “disciplinary” monetary policies.
