Iraq core inflation falls to 1.7pct y/y in July

Iraq's core inflation rate continued to slow in July, dropping to an annual rate of 1.7 per cent from 2.7 per cent in June, an official at the central bank said on Monday. The bank defines core inflation as excluding expenditure on fuel. Iraq's formal economy, struggling to pull out of years of sectarian carnage that followed the 2003 US-led invasion of the country, is dominated by the oil sector, which accounts for more than 95 per cent of government revenues.