Former Iranian labor minister Hojjat Abdolmaleki told state television that the economy has no serious problems if inflation is set aside, a claim the author strongly rejects. Year-on-year inflation is 89.8%, while the annual inflation measure rose from 69.9% in August to 73.6% in September, and cooking oil prices are up more than 250% from a year earlier. The article links the economic strain to a collapse in oil exports, which fell from about 230,000 barrels per day to near zero under the American naval blockade, and to a rial that has lost roughly 35% against the dollar since July. It also cites an IMF projection of a 7.6% contraction in 2026 and reports delayed unemployment benefits and pension shortfalls.
Summary written by Upside AI from the original article. Read the source for full details.
Read the original on armstrongeconomics.com ↗
Keywords
Iraninflationexportsgeopolitics
Open a keyword to see other news on the same topic.
Related news
- Iran Oil Exports Have Collapsed To ZERO | Armstrong Economics
According to Vortexa data cited in the article, Iran's seaborne crude exports fell from a 14-day average of 230,000 barrels per day in early September to zero, with about 83 million barrels of Iranian crude stuck on tankers. LPG exports dropped 48% from the previous month, and the rial has lost about 35% against the dollar since July, with annual inflation at 73.6% in September. The IMF projects Iran's economy will shrink 7.6% in 2026, while Iranian government figures show GDP contracted about 10% during the spring. The author argues the naval blockade threatens Tehran's finances and could push up energy and shipping costs in the wider region, citing a 9.1% jump in U.S. gasoline prices in September. Russia now accounts for 80% of high-risk petroleum exports tracked by Vortexa among Iran, Russia and Venezuela.
- Global oil prices hit highest level in 5 months amid attacks on ships , facilities
Brent crude futures topped $111 a barrel for the first time since May after Iran and its Houthi allies claimed attacks on Middle East oil infrastructure, before retreating to $110.30. That is up more than 55% since the Iran war began in late February, while U.S. WTI crude rose to $105.75, up more than 60%. Houthi militants claimed strikes on Saudi Arabia, including the Shaybah oil field and Saudi Aramco facilities in Yanbu, and the IRGC claimed two tankers hit naval mines south of the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. gasoline averaged $4.27 a gallon, nearly $1.30 higher since late February, with affordability a top voter concern before the early November midterms. The tentative U.S.-Iran accord expired in August, and the article notes the conflict had earlier pushed U.S. inflation to a three-year high in May.
- Retail price impacts from the Iran war are uneven but add up for US households before midterms
- Inside Iran Economic Crisis as Fears of Another US War Grow
In five interviews, Iranians describe rising prices and difficulty planning: a business owner in Esfahan says a weaker rial makes travel and imports costlier, and a video production company owner in Shiraz faces staff requests for raises. Some describe a more relaxed social mood, while a woman who initially backed the U.S. war now feels more disillusioned and warns economic hardship could spark unrest. Views on renewed U.S. strikes are divided, with a 23-year-old personal trainer in south Tehran wanting a stronger response. The U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran on February 28, and on October 8 Trump said the U.S. would not attack Iran before the November 3 midterm elections while maintaining a naval blockade. The IMF forecasts an economic contraction and steep consumer price increases for Iran in 2026, and on October 8 the Treasury Department targeted 17 vessels carrying Iranian oil and petrochemical products.
- Inflation and the Iran war put pressure on Republicans ahead of the midterms
- Targeted News Service
The Democratic National Committee's press release says gas prices have been above $4 per gallon for 158 days this year, more than any other year on record. It links this to rising inflation and to the war with Iran that Donald Trump and JD Vance are waging, which it calls deadly and costly and says shows no end in sight.
Related markets
Latest news
- Musk's wants to merge SpaceX and Tesla: Here's what to know
Musk said SpaceX and Tesla have formed special committees to study a merger, which would be worth about $3.5 trillion combined and would be the largest corporate deal in history. SpaceX, valued at about $2 trillion after a record listing this year, absorbed Musk's AI startup xAI in February, while Tesla is valued at about $1.5 trillion. Musk holds about 82 percent of SpaceX's voting power but only about 20 percent at Tesla. Dan Ives puts the odds of a deal at 90 percent by early 2027, though Musk called the requirement of a majority of all Tesla shares 'quite a high hurdle'. Loyal retail investors hold an estimated 25 to 27 percent of Tesla shares, and legal obstacles appear slight because both companies moved their incorporation to Texas from Delaware.
- CoreWeave and Nebius Stocks Are Crashing. Time to Buy the Dip?
Shares of Nebius and CoreWeave each fell 25% in the week of October 12 to 16. The sell-off stems from the yield on CoreWeave's debt in the secondary market surging to 15%, versus roughly 5% on Treasuries, which pushes the debt into 'distressed' territory and signals doubts about its ability to meet obligations. Nebius sold off in sympathy as a fellow neocloud company. The bigger concern is that both companies must keep issuing debt to fund data centers, and if yields are high at issuance, the assumption of nearly unlimited cheap capital could be challenged. The author says it is unclear whether now is the time to buy.
- Disney’s multiplatform Super Bowl plan frustrates ABC affiliates
ABC station owners are irritated that Disney is airing the Super Bowl across several platforms, including Disney+, ESPN2, NFL Network and ESPNU, even though the game is already on ABC and ESPN. A station group CEO estimates that the combined platforms could cut broadcast ad revenue by up to 35% compared with last year. Local affiliates typically earn about 3% of annual ad revenue from the Super Bowl and pay network owners reverse retransmission fees, but Disney+ lacks geofenced ad insertion, so affiliates cannot sell ads to streaming viewers. Disney says national commercials will be identical on all platforms and that streaming major live events is standard industry practice. Super Bowl LX drew 125.6 million viewers in February.
- Meta’s deal to keep Zuckerberg in California adds fuel to wealth tax debate ahead of election
Meta says Mark Zuckerberg will remain in California for eight years and has created a new stock plan that could help cover his taxes if Proposition 40, a 5% tax on Californians worth over $1 billion, passes on Election Day on Nov. 3. According to a filing released with its third-quarter earnings, Meta will issue non-voting Class C shares starting in January, and Zuckerberg can sell or transfer up to 20% of the shares granted to him without affecting his majority voting control. The filing says Zuckerberg’s leadership is crucial to the company’s growth and its AI ambitions, including Meta Superintelligence Labs. Most of the tech industry opposes the measure, while a recent Citrin-Politico poll found 46% in favor and 43% against, suggesting it may fall short of the majority support it needs.
- Nasdaq sell-off: A momentum unwind 'for the record books'
Matt Stucky, chief portfolio manager for equities at Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management, calls Thursday’s sell-off in the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) a momentum unwind “for the record books.” He says the market spent the first half of 2026 driven by a beta and momentum trade led by semiconductors, but in the third quarter, as rates rose, money shifted into quality stocks. He does not think the sell-off is justified by fundamentals, arguing that institutional portfolio managers swapping out of factor positions can drag down whole baskets of stocks. In semiconductors, spot rental rates for Nvidia Blackwell chips are higher than a month ago, showing tightening compute supply, even as financing costs rise and investors worry about neocloud business models and the rising cost of insuring their bonds.
- Dune launches real-time data feeds covering 200 onchain trading venues
Blockchain analytics platform Dune has launched real-time market data feeds covering more than 200 onchain trading venues, aiming to bring this data into the systems of traditional financial institutions. The feeds draw trade data from 12 blockchains, including Ethereum, Solana and Base, about one second after execution, covering both spot trading on decentralized exchanges and perpetual futures on Hyperliquid and Lighter. Early clients include quant funds, market makers, asset managers and bank trading desks, which use the data to assess liquidity and compare prices, though Dune did not name them. Meanwhile, the tokenized stock market has grown sharply, with distributed value reaching $3.58 billion, but 16 companies, including Microsoft, Alphabet and Goldman Sachs, have objected to their shares being traded on OKXICE’s proposed platform, and liquidity remains fragmented.
Get the briefing on Telegram or Zalo
Join the Upside Telegram channel or Zalo group for the Vietnam stocks and gold briefing at 8:00 and 19:00 (Vietnam time) on trading days, plus a weekly wrap on Saturday morning.