News   /   Economy

Reserve of foreign exchange surges in Iran: IMF

An IMF report points to an increase in Iran's reserve of foreign exchange. (file photo)

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has pointed to a significant rise in Iran’s foreign exchange reserve.

In its latest World Economic Outlook report, the IMF said the Iranian reserve of foreign exchange rose by 14.3 billion dollars in 2015, registering a record of 125.9 billion dollars.

It added however that the reserve could slightly slim and settle at $125.6 billion this year.

Similarly, the international financial organization forecasted the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) to hover around $386 billion in 2016 from last year’s $387.7 billion.

The report, which projected the world economy to gain 3.5% in 2016, forecasted a four-percent growth for the Iranian economy, compared to its last year announcement of zero percent.

The IMF also estimated Iran’s double-digit inflation rate of nearly 12% to lower and reach 8.9 percent throughout this year.

It said a prolonged period of slow growth has left the global economy more exposed to negative shocks and raised the risk that the world will slide into stagnation.

The monetary organization had earlier cut its combined growth projection for oil-exporting countries to 2.9 percent this year from a forecast of 3.8 percent in October.

It said the Saudi economy would only grow by 1.2 percent in 2016, the lowest in seven years, and by 1.9 percent next year.

The grim forecast for the Saudi economy comes despite the austerity measures taken by the Persian Gulf kingdom to cut spending and boost non-oil revenues after posting a record budget deficit of $98 billion last year.


Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk

SHARE THIS ARTICLE
Press TV News Roku