The Turkish national flag (left) and a flag with a portrait of Kemal Ataturk, founder of the modern Turkish republic, hang outside a building in the Sisli district of Istanbul, Turkey, on Monday, August 29, 2022.
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Türkiye’s inflation rose to 69.8% year-on-year in April, the Turkish Statistical Institute reported Friday.
The highest increases in consumer prices compared to the same period last year were in education, with an increase of 103.86%, and hotels, cafes and restaurants, with an increase of 95.82%.
On a monthly basis, Türkiye’s inflation rose 3.18%, led by increases in the prices of alcoholic beverages and cigarettes as well as hotels, cafes and restaurants.
April’s inflation rate marked the highest annual increase since November 2022, when inflation was around 85%.
While a staggering figure, April’s nearly 70% CPI was actually a smaller jump than many analysts expected. However, economists say hopes of cutting interest rates are still far away.
Türkiye’s central bank has raised its key interest rate to 50%, citing the country’s continued need to fight rising inflation. The bank said in March that its “tight monetary stance will be maintained until a significant and sustained decline in the monthly inflation trend is observed.”
“The rise in inflation in Türkiye in April was slightly smaller than expected to 69,” said Liam Peach, senior emerging markets economist at London-based Capital Economics. 8% over the same period (70.3% consensus) gives encouraging signs that price pressure has eased again.” wrote in a note on Friday.
“We think inflation will ease in the second half of the year, but we are not entirely optimistic about the pace of deflation…In that context, we still do not expect the central bank to turn to cuts for until next year”. .”
