Iran inflation rate drops to 10.4%

Iran’s inflation rate has dropped to 10.4 percent in the twelve months ending April 22, the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) announced in its monthly report.

The inflation rate fell by 0.4 percentage point to 10.4 percent, the CBI said on Monday.

The fall comes despite a 1-point growth in prices, the report added.

The government of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has made reducing the inflation rate a priority in his economic reform plan, which includes cuts in costly energy and food subsidies.

However, economists believe the subsidy reform plan will stoke up inflation by causing a dramatic rise in prices.

In March 2010, Iranian lawmakers passed a budget bill, permitting the government to eliminate $20 billion worth of subsidies, which was only half of the amount requested by president Ahmadinejad.