Turkey's inflation has surged to an annual rate of 69.8% for the month of April.
According to a recent report from the Turkish Statistical Institute released on Friday, there were major increases in consumer prices, especially in education, which saw a huge jump of 103.86%, and in hotels, cafes, and restaurants, where prices rose by 95.82%.
Meanwhile, monthly inflation in Turkey went up by 3.18%, driven by higher prices in alcoholic beverages and tobacco, as well as in hotels, cafes, and restaurants.
April's inflation rate marks the highest annual increase since November 2022, when inflation peaked at around 85%.
While the current inflation figure is daunting, it's worth noting that April's nearly 70% Consumer Price Index (CPI) rise was actually lower than many analysts had anticipated.
Turkey's central bank has responded by hiking its key interest rate to 50%, citing the persistent need to counter rising inflation in the country.
The bank said in an official statement in March, "Tight monetary stance will be maintained until a significant and sustained decline in the underlying trend of monthly inflation is observed."
Liam Peach, senior emerging markets economist at London-based Capital Economics, noted in a Friday report, "The slightly smaller-than-expected rise in Turkish inflation in April to 69.8% y/y (consensus 70.3%) offers encouraging signs that price pressures have softened again."
He further emphasised, "We think that inflation will fall in the second half of this year, but we are not quite as optimistic on the pace of disinflation. Against this backdrop, we still don’t expect the central bank to shift to cuts until next year."
