Turkey’s official annual inflation rate slightly drops to 48.58 pct in October

Duvar English

Turkey's annual consumer price index decreased to 48.58 percent in October, according to official data released by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUİK) on Nov. 4.

With this figure, the decline in annual inflation slowed down as it was 49.38 percent in September and 51.97 percent in August.

Inflation stood at 2.88 percent compared to the previous month, 39.77 percent compared to December 2023, and 62.02 percent according to the twelve-month averages.

The main group with the highest annual increase was education with 93.66 percent, followed by housing with 89.39 percent, and hotels, cafes and restaurants with 62.09 percent.

By main expenditure groups, the highest monthly increase was clothing and footwear with 14.32 percent, followed by food and non-alcoholic beverages with 4.33 percent.

Meanwhile, the Domestic Producer Price Index (D-PPI) increased by 32.24 percent on an annual basis and 1.29 percent on a monthly basis.

On the other hand, according to the Inflation Research Group (ENAG), an independent group of academics and economists, the consumer price index increased by 5.57 percent in October and by 89.77 percent annually.

“Annual increases in the rent and education groups, where backward-looking pricing behavior is particularly high, limit the decline in inflation. It takes time to eliminate rigidities, but developments in this regard are positive,” Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek commented.

The central bank has hiked interest rates by 4,150 basis points since June last year, to 50 percent, and vowed to tighten further in the case of a significant deterioration in inflation.