Turkish inflation falls below 40 pct after 20 months

Duvar English

Turkey's annual consumer price index decreased to 39.05 percent in February, according to official data released by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUİK) on March 3.

With this figure, the annual inflation fell below 40 percent for the first time after 20 months in Turkey.

Inflation stood at 2.27 percent compared to the previous month, and 53.83 percent according to the twelve-month averages.

The main group with the highest annual increase was education with 94.90 percent, followed by housing with 70.81 percent, and hotels, cafes and restaurants with 45.90 percent.

By main expenditure groups, the highest monthly increase was education category with 9.92 percent, followed by housing with 4.58 percent.

Meanwhile, the Domestic Producer Price Index (D-PPI) increased by 25.21 percent on an annual basis and 2.12 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 3.37 percent in February and by 79.51 percent annually.

Commenting on the figures, Finance Minister Mehmet Şişmek said they expected the decline in inflation to “continue thanks to fiscal and incomes policies supporting the disinflation process and the improvement in expectations.”

In January, Turkey's central bank cut its key interest rate by 250 basis points for the second month in a row, this time to 45 percent, continuing the easing cycle came after an 18-month tightening effort.

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