Islam Times - Turkey’s Annual Inflation Nears 80%

Islam Times - Turkey's annual inflation rate exploded this year near a quarter-century high of 78.62%, driven by the impact of the Ukraine war, soaring commodity prices and a slide in the lira since a December crisis.

Inflation has surged since last autumn, when the lira slumped after the central bank gradually cut its policy rate by 500 basis points to 14%, in an easing cycle sought by President Tayyip Erdogan to boost economic growth.

The latest figures showed consumer prices rose 4.95% in June, compared to a Reuters poll forecast of 5.38%. Annually, consumer price inflation was forecast to be 78.35%.

June consumer price inflation was driven by transportation prices, which surged 123.37%, and food and non-alcoholic drinks prices, which jumped 93.93%, the Turkish Statistical Institute data showed on Monday.

It was the highest annual inflation reading since September 1998, when annual inflation hit 80.4% and Turkey was battling to end a decade of chronically high inflation. The lira was unchanged at 16.78% after the data.

Inflation has been further stoked this year by the economic fallout from Russia's offensive in Ukraine.

The lira currency shed 44% against the dollar last year and is down 21% this year.

The domestic producer price index climbed 6.77% month-on-month in June for an annual rise of 138.31%.