Annual inflation rate climbs to 69.8 percent in April

Türkiye's annual inflation rate accelerated from 68.5 percent in March to 69.8 percent in April, the data from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) showed on May 3.

Consumer prices, which rose 3.16 percent in March, advanced 3.18 percent month-on-month in April.

Inflation in April was in line with expectations, Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek wrote on X, after the official data was released.

After annual inflation reaches its peak in May, it will begin to decline sharply in line with "our predictions," the minister said.

"Thanks to the economic program, the balancing of the economy and the decreasing current account deficit, the re-instated budget discipline, the strong increase in international inflows…support the fight against inflation," Şimşek added.

With disinflation, the improvement in expectations will become more evident, which will support the decline in inflation, according to the minister.

The Central Bank's inflation forecast for 2024 is 36 percent, while it predicts that the annual inflation rate will be 14 percent at the end of 2025.

Prices have increased by 18.7 percent compared with the end of 2023, according to TÜİK data.

In the face of rampant inflation, the Central Bank began to hike its key interest rate — the one-week repo auction rate — in June 2023, gradually taking it from 8.5 percent to 50 percent. Last month, it kept the policy rate unchanged.

Earlier this week, Fatih Karahan, governor of the Central Bank said that "as a team they are closely monitoring monthly price developments."

He reiterated that the tight monetary policy stance will be maintained until a significant and durable decline in the underlying trend of monthly inflation is achieved and inflation...