In mainstream media reporting, the two indicators near exclusively cited for Iran's economy are inflation and oil export figures. Below are a few more economic indicators (and projections) provided to give a slightly fuller picture:
-Oil and gas exports initially took a dive in 2012 due to EU sanctions on the purchase of Iranian oil and US sanctions on the Iranian Central Bank, which undermined exports to non-European buyers of Iranian oil.
-Growing gas and gas condensate exports will be the main factor behind the growth of petroleum exports in the current Iranian calendar year.
-The real success story in Iranian exports is the expansion of the country’s potential in non-oil exports. -The government has set a goal to achieve balanced trade between Iran’s non-oil exports and the country’s imports.
-Based on the latest statistics from the Iran Customs Administration, in the first three months of the current Iranian calendar year, which began on March 21, 2013, the value of Iran’s non-oil exports reached $7.7 billion while the value of imports stood at $9.4 million, i.e., a quarterly non-oil trade deficit of $1.7 billion.
-Taking into account the oil and gas exports, the country [will be] producing a healthy trade surplus. Though severe banking sanctions have impeded the repatriation of export revenues, Iran will develop new mechanisms to repatriate these funds and to boost its economy.
Source: Iran's Pivot to the East by Bijan Khajehpour for Al-Monitor Iran Pulse. For additional commentary, click HERE.
