TEHRAN- Iran's gross domestic product (GDP) excluding oil fell 1.7 percent in the first three months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20-June 20) compared to the same period last year, according to the Statistical Center of Iran (SCI).

The figure including oil fell 3.5 percent, ILNA reported.

Based on the SCI data, the country’s non-oil GDP reached 1.445 quadrillion rials (about $34.4 billion) in the mentioned period, while the figure stood at 1.656 quadrillion rials (about $39.4 billion) with oil included.

The data indicate that in the spring, the production by the agricultural sector increased by 1.5 percent, the industries and mines by 2.8 percent, and the service group by -4.1 percent compared to the spring of the previous year.

According to SCI, the country’s non-oil GDP fell 0.6 percent in the previous Iranian calendar year 1398 (ended on March 19), while with the oil included, the decline was seven percent.

The oil and gas sector recorded the highest negative growth of 35 percent, while the GDP growth for the mining sector fell 32.8 percent last year, based on the SCI data.

Meanwhile, the industry sector registered a negative growth of 14.7 percent which indicated a more intense shrinkage for this sector compared to the preceding calendar year.

In a report published in early June, the World Bank predicted that Iran’s GDP is going to increase by 2.1 percent in 2021 after experiencing a 5.3 percent fall in the current year due to the negative impacts of the coronavirus outbreak.

“Iran’s GDP is expected to shrink again in 2020, by 5.3 percent, partly reflecting the effects of the large-scale COVID-19 outbreak on domestic consumption and the services sectors (e.g., tourism),” WB said in its latest report on the global economy dubbed “Global Economic Prospects” released on June 6.

EF/MA