Turkey Records Slight Increase in Inflation for the First Time in 16 Months

SadaNews - Turkey recorded a slight increase in inflation in September, reaching 33.29% year-on-year, compared to 32.95% in August, marking the first rise in over a year, according to official figures released yesterday, Friday.

This slight increase is the first after 16 consecutive months of decline.

According to the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK), prices rose by 3.23% month-on-month in September, with a notable increase of 8.6% in food prices and 7.85% in housing costs.

Over the last 12 months, food prices increased by 36%, housing by 51%, and education by 66%.

Tim Ash, a specialist in emerging markets in London, stated that "the displayed prices, core prices, and production prices were all below expectations in September," attributing this to the "early and drastic" interest rate cuts by the Central Bank of Turkey.

The central bank had reduced the key interest rate in September from 43% to 40.5%, following a three-point cut in July.

For his part, Jason Tuvey, an analyst at Capital Economics in London, noted that the rising inflation "may lead the Turkish central bank to be more cautious," but he still anticipated another rate cut before the end of the year.