Average inflation in Iran

Average annual inflation measures the mean rise in Iranian consumer prices over a year, calculated as the average of the twelve monthly inflation rates. It condenses the year's inflationary pressure into a single figure.

It builds on the consumer price index (CPI) compiled by the Statistical Centre of Iran and the Central Bank of Iran from a regular price survey. The annual average compares the year's mean index with the previous year's, unlike end-of-period inflation; comparable series usually come from the IMF.

Iran has run chronically very high inflation, fuelled by sanctions, the sharp depreciation of the rial and deficit monetisation. It is a first-order social and political variable that reflects the collapse in purchasing power and shapes the country's monetary and exchange-rate policy.

Being a yearly average, it smooths peaks and troughs and reacts with a lag. Official data can be published late or intermittently and do not capture the parallel exchange market, which tends to run ahead of actual inflation; for the underlying trend, core inflation is watched.