Inflation in Turkey has practically stabilized in July and remains below 80% year-on-year, breaking the continuous increase recorded since the summer of 2021. According to official figures published on Wednesday, the increase in consumer prices reached 79, 6% in one year, compared to 78.6% in June – a decrease of 2.37 points. The high inflation that the country is experiencing is largely explained by the collapse of the Turkish lira, which has lost almost half of its value in a year. The Turkish lira was trading at 17.95 pounds to the dollar, almost flat when the official figures were announced.
The issue remains particularly hot with less than a year to go before presidential elections scheduled for June 2023. However, rising consumer prices remain at levels not reached since President Recep Tayyip Erdogan came to power in 2003. These figures are also regularly challenged by independents. economists and the opposition who consider that the data from the National Institute of Statistics (Tüik) must be corroborated.
The Inflation Research Group (Enag), made up of independent Turkish economists, said on Wednesday that inflation reached 176.4% in the year: which nevertheless reflects a slowdown compared to June (175.6%) but it is still more than double the official rate.
“There will be an improvement in our country”
For Istanbul, the increase is even more marked, according to the Chamber of Commerce and Industry which announced on Monday the figure of 99.1% increase in retail prices during the year. The Head of State showed confidence this Monday by announcing the light at the end of the tunnel: “A trend towards price stabilization has already begun. There will be an improvement in our country,” he promised.
The central bank, officially independent but which has seen a waltz from its governors in recent years, said it is betting inflation will drop to 40% by the summer of 2023.
Source: BFM TV
