2024-05-04 15:30:03
Inflation in Turkey reached 69.8 percent in April at an annual rate, compared to 68.5 percent in March, according to official data published on Friday, according to what was reported by Agence France-Presse, while Reuters reported that inflation recorded a level slightly lower than expectations, but the highest since late 2022 due to the increases. Great prices for education, restaurants and hotels.
Consumer goods prices rose by 3.2 percent on a monthly basis, according to the National Bureau of Statistics in Türkiye.
The Turkish Central Bank’s raising of interest rates from 8.5 percent to 50 percent, between June and March, failed to stop inflation, which was fueled by an almost continuous decline in the exchange rate of the Turkish lira.
The Turkish Minister of Labor, Vedat Isikhan, confirmed in mid-April that the minimum wage would not be raised next July, unlike the previous two years, in order to combat inflationary pressures.
The minimum wage was raised by approximately 50 percent on January 1.
According to official data, the price increase relates mainly to education (+103.9% over one year), hotels and restaurants (+95.8%), transportation (+80.4%), and health (+77.7%).
Analysts consider the rise in prices to be the main reason for the defeat of the Justice and Development Party, led by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in the local elections that took place at the end of March.
The Enag Group, which includes independent Turkish economists, estimates that the inflation rate exceeded 124 percent on an annual basis in April, an increase of five points in one month.
In January and February, inflation rose 6.7 percent and 4.53 percent respectively on a monthly basis, largely due to a strong increase in the minimum wage and a set of price updates in the new year.
The central bank has raised interest rates by 3,650 basis points since June, including a 500 basis point increase in March due to deteriorating inflation expectations.
The bank kept interest rates unchanged last April, indicating that the effects of monetary tightening were delayed, and pledged to tighten monetary policy further in the event of a significant deterioration in inflation.
The Central Bank expects inflation to reach its peak at about 73-75 percent in May, then begin to decline in the second half of the year, reaching 36 percent at the end of 2024.
Last updated: May 3, 2024 – 19:58
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2024-05-04 15:30:03