TEHRAN - The International Monetary Fund (IMF) in its latest Regional Economic Outlook titled “Regional Economic Outlook Update: Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan, and Pakistan” predicted that Iran’s gross official reserves will reach $108.4 billion in 2018.

According to the report, the country’s gross official reserves will experience a $13.3 billion jump in the current year rising from last year’s $95.1 billion.

The IMF also predicted a 4 percent real GDP growth for Iran in 2018, experiencing a 0.3 percent fall compared to the preceding year, while the country’s consumer price inflation will stand at 12.1 percent in 2018 to register a 2.2 percent increase.

The report also sees a 23.8 percent increase in broad money growth this year, a slight increase from last year’s 23.5 percent.

The International Monetary Fund expects the value of Iran’s exports and imports of goods and services to increase by $20.8 billion and $11.7 billion respectively.

Iran exported $109.5 billion worth of goods and services during 2017 while the value of imports stood at $91.6 billion in that same time span.

EF/MA