The Central Bank of Iran (CBI) plans to keep a tight rein on bank interest rates as the country's inflation is witnessing a gradual decline, a senior bank official said

CBI Chief Valiollah Seif said on Tuesday that Iran's interest rate policies require major modifications with the country's decreasing inflation rate in the next calendar year starting on March 2.

He said that the plan largely pursues the aim of preventing interest rates to be siphoned off by speculators, adding that this [speculation] could damage the country's economy and industry to a great extent.

Seif concluded that economic injury caused by unfair competition between banks needs to be also avoided via a legal framework.

Analysts believe that a rise in production of goods and services has attracted liquidity to the country's various sectors and led to the new fall in inflation rate.