China lambasted the United States for “peddling arms” and “interfering” in the domestic affairs of other countries in the wake of Washington’s threat that it will impose sanctions on any country that trades arms with Iran.
China lambasted the United States for “peddling arms” and “interfering” in the domestic affairs of other countries in the wake of Washington’s threat that it will impose sanctions on any country that trades arms with Iran.
Iran saw a record daily increase in coronavirus infections on Tuesday, reporting 5,039 new cases that took the national total to 539,600, health officials announced.
Even with the removal of global restrictions, Iran has no intention to join the arms race in the region, which only serves the financial interests of weapons manufacturers, a senior government official said.
The Energy Ministry started 250 power and water projects in this fiscal year (March 2020-2021) with $1.7 billion. So far 122 projects costing $1 billion have been completed, including water transfer from the Persian Gulf, the energy minister said.
“Come March the remaining projects including 11 dams, 11 wastewater treatment plants, water treatment units, renewable power stations, and 2,000 MW of thermal power plants will come online,” ILNA quoted Reza Ardakanian as saying.
Among the 122 projects that are operational are water pipelines and infrastructure from the Persian Gulf to three southern provinces.
“The ministry has issued permits for the transfer of 26 billion cubic meters of water without desalination to Bushehr, Hormozgan and Sistan-Baluchestan provinces,” the minister said.
Gas units of Veys Combined-Cycle Power Plant in Khuzestan Province will come on stream in the summer of 2021, director of CCPP projects at the Thermal Power Plants Holding Company said.
Located 20 km from Ahvaz-Masjed Soleyman Road, the plant has a capacity of 906 megawatts and is among the first to use F-class gas turbines.
“Veys Power Station is one of the eight plants using F-class turbines, with 5,000 MW capacity, built to meet the energy needs of industrial, mining and residential units in the region and create jobs,” the Energy Ministry news portal Paven quoted Alireza Nasrollahi as saying.
The energy and infrastructure conglomerate Mapna is in charge of the design, construction, equipment supply, site transportation, installation, testing and commissioning of two gas units each with 307 MW capacity and a steam turbine with a capacity of 292 MW.
OPEC and allied producers have pledged action to support the oil market as concerns mounted that a second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic will hobble demand and an earlier plan to raise output from next year would further depress prices.
Iranian steelmakers produced a total of 25.39 million tons of semi-finished and finished steel products during the first half of the current fiscal year (March 20-Sept. 21) to register a 9.16% year-on-year increase.
According to the Iranian Steel Producers Association’s latest report, semis accounted for 14.39 million tons of the total output, up 10% YOY.
Billet and bloom made up 8.67 million tons of semi-finished production while slab output hit 5.7 million tons to register a 13% and 6% YOY rise respectively.
The output of finished steel increased by 8% YOY to 11 million tons.
Long steel products had a 5.56 million-ton share in the output of finished steel products, posting a 13% growth YOY.
Rebar production stood at 4.54 million tons (up 15% YOY). It was followed by beams with 626,000 tons (up 17% YOY) and L-beam, T-beam and other types with 393,000 tons (down 4% YOY).
Underemployment, the condition in which people in a labor force are employed for less than 44 hours of service per week, stood at 9.3% in the second quarter of the current fiscal year (June 21-Sept. 21).
The average goods and services Consumer Price Index of "education" in the 12-month period ending Sept. 21, which marks the end of the sixth Iranian month, increased by 21.7% compared with last year’s corresponding period.
With a coefficient of 1.86%, the CPI of "education", from among 12 groups of the basket of consumer goods and services purchased by households, stood at 190.2 in the period, indicating a 3.5% rise compared with the previous month.
The group’s CPI index registered a year-on-year increase of 25.4%, the Statistical Center of Iran reported.
Iran’s business environment deteriorated in the second quarter of the current year (June 21-Sept. 21), according to Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture.
Iran’s National Business Environment Index stood at 6.05 in Q2 of the current fiscal year to register an increase of 0.04 percentage points compared with the preceding quarter but a decline of 0.02 percentage points over the same quarter of last year, the chamber said in a report published on its website.
The index calculated by ICCIMA measures business friendliness of Iran’s economy, with 10 indicating the worst grade. In other words, the decline in the index is indicative of an improving business environment.
The shortage of foreign currency for importing raw materials is the biggest challenge facing Iranian industries.
According to Abdolvahab Sahlabadi, the head of Iran’s House of Industry, Mine and Trade, many producers purchase their raw materials from foreign countries but their imports are unable to undergo customs clearance, Fars News Agency reported.
“One manufacturer is now paying $5,200 per day in demurrage charges. This comes as they managed to skirt sanctions and buy unprocessed goods or spare parts with great difficulty, only to fail to clear them from customs,” he said.
Sahlabadi said it is six months now that goods have been piling up at customs offices, adding that without production, manufacturers cannot have exports and export earnings to repatriate to the country.
“The Central Bank of Iran and the Ministry of Industries, Mining and Trade need to reach an agreement in this regard. The multiple exchange rate system has puzzled producers. Some of them have even floated the idea of discharging their goods by providing forex at the free market rate but their proposal was rejected,” he said.
Following the depreciation of national currency against foreign currencies in early 2017, the government introduced stringent rules like banning the import of non-essential goods, especially those produced inside the country (known as Group IV goods).
Foreign exchange rates and gold prices declined again on Tuesday following renewed intervention by the Central Bank of Iran.
Sell-off continued battering Iran’s share market on Tuesday with the benchmark of the Tehran Stock Exchange, TEDPIX, having lost more than 10% in the past three sessions.
TEDPIX extended the losing streak by shedding more than 42,970 points -- down another 3% to close the session at 1,419,312 points.
More than 83% of ticker symbols closed the session in red, including 271 tickers at the TSE and 124 in the junior equity market, Iran Fara Bourse.
There is growing pessimism among capital market players and shareholders of steel companies over a government decision to intervene in the pricing of steel products in the Iran Mercantile Exchange.
The criticism took new dimensions soon after a meeting attended by the Minister of Industries Alireza Razm-Hosseini, First Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri and steel industry leaders Friday to discuss pricing mechanisms of steel products.
Capital market officials are concerned about the government decision to “set a ceiling and a floor” for steel prices at the IME, warning that this may impair the price discovery mechanism in the capital market.
Foreign exchange rates and gold prices declined again on Tuesday following renewed intervention by the Central Bank of Iran.
The US dollar lost 12% to fetch 277,000 rials in the open market. Bank-affiliated moneychangers pulled the dollar to as low as 266,510 rials earlier on the day, but later increased it to 275,500 rials, still 12% or 33,420 rials lower compared to the day earlier.
Melli Exchange, affiliated to Bank Melli Iran, quoted the euro at 328,500 rials. The British pound was worth 361,480 rials, down 12.19% compared to Monday's close.
Two innovation centers have been launched by Iran’s University of Science and Technology to support knowledge-based teams and startups working on energy and water technologies.
During an event held on Monday, Vice President for Science and Technology Sorena Sattari inaugurated the new centers, Mehr News Agency reported.
Called “Hydrotech” and “Energy”, the centers have been established with the help of vice presidential office and the financial support of private sector.
Speaking at the event, Sattari said the tech centers will help expand and commercialize the activities of the university’s research center for applied hydrodynamics and water-based systems.
“The innovation centers are set to tap the university’s potentials and capabilities to meet domestic industrial demands, master technological know-how, nurture knowledge-based companies and commercialize tech ideas,” he said.
Also present at the event, Jabbar-Ali Zakeri, the university’s dean, said the new centers are to support innovative activities by university graduates in mechanical studies.
Japan’s central bank is expected to cut its growth and price forecasts for the current fiscal year at next week’s rate review, sources familiar with its thinking said, as the coronavirus pandemic weighs on the economic recovery.
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