The detail from the Central Bank shows that most of the jump in inflation has come from the removal of subsidies. So, it isn’t clear how much inflation is really hurting the public. In other words, if a family is paying $44 more a month for fuel and bread, but is getting $44 more in the new welfare payments, the inflation hike is purely technical to that family.
The statistics for the end of the Persian year from the Central Bank show that the inflation average over the last 12 months has come to 12.4 percent.
But the rate compared to the end of the previous year—a measure that usually leads the other measurement, as can be seen in the accompanying chart—totaled 19.9 percent.
But many items in the shopping basket saw much lower inflation. For example, house rents were up only 8 percent last year and seafood was up 10.,1 percent. Meat was up 13.5 percent.
The 19.9 percent overall rate was driven by huge jumps for the goods and services that saw subsides slashed.
Electricity, gas and other fuels combined saw price hikes averaging 297 percent. In other words, they tripled in price. Bread was up 47 percent, water 40 percent, and transport 30 percent.
A few items that aren’t subsidized did, however, soar last year. Fats and oilssx, a key item in every Iranian housewife’s larder, were up 62 percent. Vegetables were up 35 percent, while sugar and other confectionaries were up 32 percent.
