Turkey’s annual inflation rate falls to 19.50 pct in April

ANKARA

The consumer prices in Turkey increased 19.50 percent in April, marking a rate below market expectations.

The annual inflation rate in April was down from 19.71 percent the previous month, the country’s statistical authority TÜİK announced on May 3.

A group of 16 economists polled by Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency forecast consumer prices in Turkey would rise 20.25 percent compared to the same month last year.

The highest price increase last month was seen in food and non-alcoholic beverages, up 31.86 percent on a yearly basis.

The economists also forecast that Turkey’s year-end annual inflation would be 16.13 percent on average - with the lowest estimate at 14.50 percent, and the highest at 19.70 percent.

New inflation data shows that Turkey will achieve its targets in the summer on the back of falling food prices, the treasury and finance minister said.     

Annual core inflation rate slipped to 16.30 percent in April, from 17.53 percent he underlined.

"Positive developments in the consumer price index indicate the rebalancing process of the Turkish economy continues," Albayrak said on his official Twitter account.

12-month average 19.39 pct

On a monthly basis, consumer prices rose 1.69 percent in April, TÜİK said.

Economists forecast monthly inflation of 2.33 percent, with predictions varying between 1.94 percent and 2.80 percent.

The highest monthly increase month-on-month was seen in alcoholic beverages and tobacco with 6.77 percent while the only monthly decrease was 0.30 percent in communication, according to the data.

“In April 2019 within average prices of 418 items in the index, average prices of 42 items remained unchanged, while average prices of 294 items increased, and average prices of 82 items decreased,” TÜİK said.

The data showed that the 12-month average hike in consumer prices was 19.39 percent as of this April.

The Turkish Central Bank on April 30 kept the country’s year-end inflation forecasts at 14.6 percent this year, 8.2 percent next year, and 5.4 percent in 2021.

As noted in the bank’s quarterly inflation report, the figure is expected to fluctuate between 12.1 percent and 17.2 percent through the end of 2019.

Over the last decade, annual inflation saw its lowest level at 3.99 percent in March 2011, while it peaked at 25.24 percent in October 2018.

As laid out in Turkey’s new economic program announced last September, the country’s inflation rate target is 15.9 percent this year, 9.8 percent in 2020, and 6.0 percent in 2021.