TEHRAN- The governor of the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) has said the country’s oil sector grew by 14.7 percent in the previous Iranian calendar year (ended on March 19), compared to a year earlier.

Speaking at the CBI 64th general assembly on Sunday, Mohammadreza Farzin put the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to the base price (fixed prices in 2016) in the mentioned year at 5.0 percent.

“Last year, the oil sector recorded a growth of 14.7 percent, the industry sector recorded a growth of 4.5 percent, the services group reached a growth of 3.8 percent and the agricultural sector grew by 0.2 percent,” he said.

The country’s GDP excluding oil increased by 3.6 percent, Farzin said.

According to the CBI Economic Accounts Department, GDP to the base price (fixed prices in 2016) in the 3rd quarter of the previous Iranian calendar year showed a 4.5 percent growth compared to the same period a year earlier.

In addition, the country’s economic growth without oil included in the mentioned period reached 3.9 percent, the report added.

The study of the investment situation in various economic sectors (to the fixed prices in 2016) clarifies that the ‘formation of the fixed gross capital’ in the 3rd quarter of the last Iranian calendar year saw a 14.2 percent growth compared to the same period in the previous year.

The realization of 4.5 percent economic growth in the previous Iranian calendar year indicates the continuation of the growing trend of economic activities in the country.

Earlier this month, the World Bank (WB), in its latest report, predicted that Iran’s economy will grow 3.2 percent in 2024 and the inflation rate will decrease to 35.3 percent.

According to the estimate of the international body, Iran’s economy experienced a five percent growth and a 40.7 percent inflation in 2023.

The bank has forecast that the growth of Iran's non-oil sector which was 3.8 percent last year will reach 3.0 percent in the current year. Iran's oil sector, which experienced a significant growth of 17.1 percent in the previous year will also grow by 5.0 percent in the current year.

In addition, the World Bank has predicted that Iran's oil production this year will increase by 200,000 barrels compared to the previous year and will reach 3.2 million barrels per day.

It is expected that Iran's agricultural sector will grow only 0.9 percent this year, and the growth of the industry sector will reach 4.9 percent and the service sector will grow 2.6 percent.

Iran's inflation rate which was 40.7 percent in the previous year is also expected to fall to 35.3 percent in the current year.

EF/MA