Turkish official inflation at 10.61% in January

ISTANBUL- Agence France-Presse

Hürriyet photo

Turkish annualized inflation leap by 10.61 percent in January, according to figures released by the national statistics office, with drinks and tobacco showing the strongest increases.
 
On a monthly basis, consumer prices posted a rise of 0.56 percent, the Tuik statistics service added.
 
The annual rate marked a sharp pick-up from 2010, when Turkey recorded inflation of 4.9 percent.
 
A breakdown by categories showed that alcohol and tobacco prices shot up by 18.53 percent on the year, while the cost of transportation gained 12.9 percent and food prices were 11.67 percent higher.
 
Inflation has been spurred by economic growth as Turkish business activity expanded by a record 9.6 percent in the first nine months of 2011.
 
The national central bank had forecast much lower inflation of 5.5 percent last year, and expects it to fall to 5.0 percent in 2012.