Iran’s liquidity grows by 1.9% over a month

May 26, 2012 - 16:10
TEHRAN - Liquidity in Iran amounted to 3.587 trillion rials (some $ 292 billion) by the end of the first calendar month of Farvardin (April 19), showing $5.3 billion increase compared to the previous month, the IRNA News Agency quoted Central Bank Governor Mahmoud Bahmani as saying.
 
The value of liquidity hit 3.52 trillion rials (some $287 billion) in the past calendar year, up 19.4 percent year on year, an official with the Central Bank announced on May 4. 
 
Peyman Qorbani added that the rise was favorable considering the implementation of the subsidy reform plan, the IRNA News Agency reported.
The subsidy reform plan put into place by Iran's government created $13 billion more in liquidity than was anticipated, head of the parliament (Majlis) Economic Committee Gholamreza Mesbahi Moqaddam said, the Fars News Agency reported.
 
The subsidy reform plan pays out $37 to Iranians while eliminating subsidies for fuels and some commodities. The plan, which was supposed to pay for itself, has a $16 billion deficit. Recently, the Iranian government transferred about $23, to Iranians' accounts for the second phase of the program without approval from the Majlis.
 
When the plan started in December 2010, it was expected to cause about $32 billion in liquidity, Moqaddam said. But greater demand for the cash subsidies and the government's money borrowed from the central bank to pay for the subsidies led to $45 billion in liquidity.