Iran’s president submits proposed budget to parliament

TEHRAN, Iran – Iran’s official IRNA news agency is reporting that President Hassan Rouhani submitted a $83 billion budget bill to parliament for the next fiscal year, beginning in March.

The budget is seven per cent more than the current budget in Iranian rials. But it is less in U.S. dollars due to the recent drop in the rial against the dollar. The current year’s budget is $97 billion.

The bill assumes less than 30 per cent of Iran’s income will come from oil exports, almost the same as the current year. It assumes an average oil price of $50 a barrel, up from the current $40. Iran and other oil-producing countries recently agreed to limit production in order to drive up prices.

Parliament is scheduled to finalize the proposed budget in February.