Gov't-run TÜİK reports annual inflation rate as 50 percent

Duvar English

Turkish annual inflation fell to 50.51% in March, according to data by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) on April 3.

Month-on-month, consumer prices rose 2.29%, the TÜİK said.

However, according to unofficial data from the ENAG Inflation Research Group, an independent institution set up in 2020 to track the country’s inflation, the annual consumer price inflation rate was 112.51% in March, far higher than official claims. ENAG also said that prices in Turkey increased by 5.08% percent month-on-month in March.

According to TÜİK, the biggest monthly rise in prices was in the education sector, which was up 6.30%, while prices of restaurants and hotels items, and food and non-alcoholic drinks climbed 3.85% and 3.84% respectively.

The restaurants and hotels category led the annual rise with 70.73%, followed by food prices at 67.89% and health sector 64.68%.

The domestic producer price index was up 0.44% month-on-month in March for an annual rise of 62.45%.

"Inflation, which had risen to 85 percent in October, started to decline with the impact of the right steps we took, and declined to 50.5 percent as of March 2023. But the most important thing is that while Turkey recorded this decrease in inflation, it did not experience any losses in investment, employment and production. Our economy has not sacrificed its dynamic structure, production increases and growth trend to the fight against inflation," Turkish Finance and Treasury Minister Nureddin Nebati said on Twitter after the announcement.

Inflation has been stoked by a currency crisis at the end of 2021 and hit a 24-year peak of 85.51% in October. The central bank cut its policy rate despite soaring inflation to preserve growth momentum.

Economists and government officials expect the Feb. 6 earthquakes, which damaged hundreds of thousands of buildings, to cost more than $50 billion and shave one to two percentage points off the country's economic growth this year.