TEHRAN (IRNA) – Iran’s foreign currency reserves reached $50 billion at the end of the last Iranian year (ended March 20, 2006).

Announcing this, head of Monetary and Banking Research Institute of Central Bank of Iran (CBI) Ahmad Mojtahed told reporters on Tuesday the year was a good one for Iranian economy. "Non-oil exports reached the record level of $10 billion up by 13 percent compared with the figure for the preceding year."

Asked about transferring the foreign currency reserves account to a foreign currency reserves fund, he said that if foreign currency reserves be transferred to the fund it would be spent easily for long-term economic projects.

He said that CBI believes that transactions in the foreign currency reserve account are easier and that the bank prefers to use the account.

Mojtahed said that inflation stood at 12.1 percent at the end of the last Iranian year.