Alwaght- Iran’s Plan and Budget Organization (PBO) chief announced on Wednesday the oil and gas sector’s economic growth in autumn 2023 reached 21.8 percent.
Attending the weekly cabinet session, Davoud Manzour said the country’s economic growth in the season stood at 5.1 percent if the oil sector’s growth was included and 2.5 percent if excluded.
Pointing to the figures released by the Statistical Center of Iran (SCI), the official said the mining and services sectors witnessed 6.9 and 4.6 percent growth during the three months respectively and the agricultural sector’s growth rose to minus 1 percent from minus 3 percent.
Sinc per last year, energy monitoring agencies have been reporting Iranian oil exports highs despite the American sanctions.
Nikkie.com website reported last month that Iran’s exports of crude oil grew by roughly 50 percent last year to a five-year high of about 1.29 million barrels per day.
Chins is a major buyer of Iranian oil.
A report released by the World Bank in August 2023 said: “Iran’s Economy continued to grow moderately for the third consecutive year in 2022/23, albeit at a slower pace than in the previous year. Real gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 3.8 percent in 2022/23, driven by expansions in services and manufacturing.”
It added that despite sanctions, the oil sector also expanded, aided by the tighter global oil markets. Favorable weather conditions helped the agriculture sector to marginally grow after the contractions in previous years. On the expenditure side, private consumption was the main driver of GDP growth. Government consumption contracted to contain the budget deficit following a sharp expansionary policy in 2021/22.
Meanwhile, the report said, exports and imports both increased, and strong investment in machinery drove investments up, while construction investment marginally improved. However, the economy continues to face growth constraints notably related to the economic sanctions, restricted access to external markets and to the latest technology, and much needed foreign investment.
