The average annualized food inflation stood at 49.6% in the month to May 21, latest data released by the Statistical Center of Iran show.
The Consumer Price Index of “food and beverage” group stood at 586.1 in the second month of the current Iranian year (April 21-May 21), indicating a 3.3% increase against the previous month.
The index registered a year-on-year increase of 49.6%.
With 26.64%, the “food and beverage” group has a major impact on the overall inflation rate.
The 12 groups of goods and services surveyed by the SCI on a monthly basis also include "tobacco" with 0.59%, "clothing and shoes" with 4.78%, "housing, water, electricity, natural gas and other fuels" with 35.5% (highest), "furniture, home appliances and their maintenance" with 3.93%, "health and treatment" with 7.14%, "transportation" with 9.41%, "communications" with 2.87%, "leisure and culture" with 1.65%, "education" with 1.86%, "hotels and restaurants" with 1.44% and "miscellaneous items and services" with 4.18%.
The overall goods and services CPI in the 12-month period ending May 21 increased by 38.7% compared with the corresponding period of the year before.
SCI had put the average annual inflation rate for the preceding Iranian month (ended April 20) at 39.2%. It put average inflation for urban and rural areas at 38.3% and 40.8%, respectively.
CPI registered a YOY increase of 39.2% for urban areas and 40.1% for rural areas in the month.
The overall CPI reached 424.4 for urban households and 459.2 for rural households, indicating a month-on-month increase of 3.7% and 2.8%, respectively.
The highest and lowest monthly growth in the index among 12 groups of the basket of consumer goods and services purchased by households in the Iranian month ending May 21 was recorded for “food and beverages”, “hotels and restaurants” and “miscellaneous goods and services” with 6.7% each and education at 0.5% month-on-month.
The highest year-on-year inflation in the month under review was logged by “hotels and restaurants” with 61% while the lowest YOY inflation was registered by “communications” with 7.6%.
The highest and lowest annualized inflation rates were registered for “hotels and restaurants” with 61.1% and “communications” 4.8%.