Turkey's independent academics announce annual inflation rate as 105 percent
Turkey's Inflation Research Group (ENAG), founded by a group of independent academics, has announced the country's annual inflation rate as 105.19 percent in April, far higher than the official figure of 43.68 percent.
Duvar English
Turkish annual inflation rose 43.68% in April, official data showed on May 3.
Month-on-month, consumer prices rose 2.39% in April, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) said.
According to unofficial data from the ENAG Inflation Research Group, an independent institution set up in 2020 to track the country’s inflation, Turkey’s annual consumer price inflation rate was 105.19% in April, far higher than official claims.
ENAG said prices in Turkey increased by 4.86% month-on-month in April.
Month-on-month the communication category led the price rises with 5.93% in the official figure, followed by hotels, cafes and restaurants category, which rose 4.24%.
The health category also led the annual rise with 66.62%, followed by hotel, cafes and restaurants at 66.41% and food prices at 53.92%.
The domestic producer price index was up 0.81% month-on-month in April for an annual rise of 52.11%, the TÜİK said.
After the announcement of figures, Turkish Finance and Treasury Minister Nureddin Nebati argued that "While the whole world is struggling with recession concerns and employment losses, we continue our fight against inflation without compromising production, employment and growth. We expect this rapid decline, which is a result of our determined fight against inflation, to continue in the coming months and annual inflation to decline to much lower levels this year."
Inflation has been stoked by a currency crisis at the end of 2021 and hit a 24-year peak of 85.51% in October 2022. The central bank cut its policy rate despite soaring inflation to preserve growth momentum.
Some polls suggest that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan might lose office in the May 14 elections due to rising cost of living.