CBI chief says Iran’s forex reserves are satisfactory

Tehran, June 2, IRNA – Central Bank of Iran (CBI) Governor Abdolnasser Hemmati said on Tuesday that the CBI forex reserves are satisfactory and at a very good level. Hemmati made the remarks in an open session of Parliament which reviewed the country’s major economic indicators. The sanctions imposed on Iran over the past two years were smart and unprecedented, he said. “The US administration used all the means to deprive us of its revenues.” They were seeking economic collapse of the country, but, thank God, they failed to achieve their ominous goal, Hemmati said. Noting that economic indicators are not separate from political trends and international pressures, the CBI chief said that two years ago, many thought that, in the most optimistic way, Iran would face hyperinflation and unprecedented forex rates while it did not happen. Iran used to have some $107 billion of oil revenues a year nine years ago while last year the figure fell to less than 20% of those figures, the official said. Noting that Iran’s imports, which stood at $78 billion a year nine years ago, declined to $42 billion last year, Hemmati said: “this can be both a threat and an opportunity: It is a threat as it creates an inflation shock and it is an opportunity as we can focus on national production and reduce reliance on oil revenues.” He said that statistics released by CBI at the end of the past year showed that all the economic growth indicators had become positive. The official expressed hope that with the recent economic revival, the country will reach the goal of “surge in production” urged by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei.