Türkiye's annual inflation eases to 16-month low in April

ANKARA

Falling for a sixth consecutive month, Türkiye's annual consumer inflation rate slowed to a 16-month low of 43.68% in April, according to official data released on Wednesday.

April's figure, announced by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat), was down from 50.51% in March, bucking the market forecast of 51.33%.

The inflation rate was 69.97% in April 2022, according to TurkStat.

Prices increased at a slower pace in furniture – 43.18% in April versus 56.12% in March – as well as in food and non-alcoholic beverages, which rose 53.92% in April compared to 67.89% in March, and in housing, with a 43.18% rise last month from the previous 56.12% increase.

The highest price increase on a yearly basis was in health with 66.62%, while the lowest was in clothing and footwear with 13.82%.

On a monthly basis, consumer prices in Türkiye increased 2.39% in April, accelerating from March's three-month low of 2.29%.

In its April meeting, the Turkish Central Bank kept the one-week repo rate, also known as the policy rate, unchanged at 8.5%.

The bank forecasts that inflation in the country will hit 22.3% at the end of the year.