TEHRAN - The caretaker of the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) Monetary and Banking Research Institute has said the country is targeting 9.5 percent inflation and 13.8 percent liquidity growth by the end of the seventh National Development Plan (2023-2027).

Speaking in a meeting on the country’s macro-economic strategies on Monday, Kourosh Parvizian said: “In the law of the seventh national development plan, the objectives and measures of the reform of the banking system are foreseen in order to reach the 13.8 percent liquidity growth and 9.5 percent inflation set in the plan.”

The meeting focused on economic governance was also attended by Mohammad Shirijian, CBI deputy governor for monetary policy, Nasser Khiyabani, faculty member of Allameh Tabatabai University, Teymour Rahmani, faculty member of Tehran University, and Peyman Ghorbani, Deputy head of Nations Credit Institute.

Discussing the main reasons for inflation in Iran's economy and the role and position of monetary and financial policy in controlling inflation was a main topic of the meeting which was held by Central Bank's Monetary and Banking Research Institute.

Also speaking at the meeting, Rahmani mentioned the economic growth targeted in the seventh National Development Plan and said: “Considering the economic realities, we should not insist on reaching an eight percent growth in the seventh plan. Today, the country's priority in the economic sector should be inflation control. However, it is never suggested that governments try to quickly reduce inflation, but rather to bring the inflation rate to a balanced range, close to 14 or 15 percent, which is bearable.”

“Undoubtedly, without controlling and curbing inflation, economic growth of eight percent will not be achieved, and since Iran's economy is highly resource-oriented and oil revenues play an important role in the country's economic growth, it will be hard in the short term to increase the current growth of four or five percent to eight percent,” he added.

EF/MA