Turkish inflation climbs to almost 70% in April

The domestic producer price index climbed 7.67% month-on-month in April for an annual rise of 121.82%

Turkey’s annual inflation rate rose more than expected to nearly 70% in April, a fresh 20-year high, official data showed Thursday, fuelled by the Russia-Ukraine conflict and rising energy and commodity prices, Qazet.az reports.

The consumer price index (CPI) surged an annual 69.97% last month, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) said, up from 61.1% in March. The annual consumer price inflation was forecast to be around 68%.

Month-on-month, consumer prices rose 7.25%, the institute said, compared to a Reuters poll forecast of 6%.

The surge in consumer prices was driven by a 105.9% leap in the transportation sector, which includes energy prices, and an 89.1% jump in food and non-alcoholic drinks prices, the data showed.

Month-on-month, food and non-alcoholic drink prices rose the most with 13.38% and house prices rose 7.43%.

The government has said inflation will fall under its new economic program, which prioritizes low interest rates to boost production and exports with the goal of achieving a current account surplus.

Inflation has continued to rise despite tax cuts on basic goods and government subsidies for some electricity bills to ease the burden on household budgets.

Last week the central bank forecast annual inflation will peak at around 70% by June before declining to near 43% by year-end and single digits by end-2024.

The central bank held its key policy rate steady at 14% in four meetings this year and said measures and policy steps will prioritize so-called liraization in the market