TEHRAN – Iran’s trade balance registered a $29 billion surplus in 2016, Tasnim reported on Friday citing the “2017 handbook of statistics” report published by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

According to the report, the country’s total foreign trade stood at $109 billion, of which $69 billion was related to exports.

The Islamic Republic also exported about $10.202 billion worth of services while the total value of services Iran traded with the world was estimated at $24.896 billion.

Based on the UNCTAD report, Iran accounted for 0.34 percent of the world’s total $32.136 trillion trade in 2016.

It put Iran’s real GDP growth at 4.3 percent for 2016, higher than the average world GDP growth (2.2 percent), and also above the average GDP growth for developing countries (3.7 percent). 

“The Iranian economy has been experiencing a revival, with growth of 4.3 percent in 2016 and an estimated 5.1 percent in 2017 (as compared with 0.4  percent in 2015), thanks largely to a sharp increase in oil production after the lifting of sanctions, and the effects of this on household incomes, consumption and domestic investment,” the report reads.

“Inflation in the Islamic Republic of Iran, which was high during the sanction years, fell to single-digit levels, and is currently around 9 percent per year. Like other oil-exporting countries, the immediate economic prospects of the Islamic Republic of Iran depend on the trend in oil prices, as oil accounts for around 60 percent of exports.”
 
Iran, world’s 44th top trader: WB

Meanwhile, World Bank has put Iran at the 44th place among the world’s top traders in 2016.

As reported, Iran’s total trade in 2016 hit $106 billion, indicating a positive trade balance with $26 billion surplus.

The country exported $66 billion worth of goods last year, while imports stood at $40 billion, the report added.

EF/MG