Iranian economists are predicting double-digit currency depreciation by year-end, amid expectations that already high levels of capital flight will increase over fears about Iran’s economic direction.
The government has managed to keep depreciation mostly under 5% a year since 2001, despite the U.S.-led sanctions that limit trade with and imports to the Islamic Republic. But economic problems snowballed after President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad took office in 2005. His lavish spending plans and subsidized loan programs to government insiders have exacerbated inflation and decreased currency reserves.
