Inflation jumped to 67.1% in February on an annual basis in Turkey against 64.9% in January, according to official data released today.
In one month, the increase in consumer prices, fueled by the almost continuous devaluation of the Turkish lira, stood at 4.5%.
The increase in prices particularly concerns food products (+71.1%), the transport sector (+78%), health (+81.25%), education (+91.8%), as well as hotel and catering industry (+94.8%), according to the Turkish Statistical Institute.
Although high, the official figures are disputed by independent economists at the Inflation Research Group (Enag), who estimate the rise in consumer prices at 122% year-on-year.
Despite regular wage and pension increases, inflation remains a burning issue in Turkey a week before the start of the holy month of Ramadan, often synonymous with increased costs for families.
The Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan he said yesterday, Sunday, that “anti-inflationary (policies) will really start to be felt towards the end of the year”.
After Erdogan’s May re-election to the presidency, the new team heading the central bank and the finance ministry raised the key interest rate from 8.5 to 45 percent in an effort to reduce inflation.
Turkey’s central bank, however, kept its key interest rate at 45% at the end of February, marking the end of the cycle of monetary tightening.
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