By The consumer price inflation in Turkey experienced a slight increase at the beginning of the year, presenting an ongoing challenge for the country’s central bank. This comes after the resignation of the bank’s governor, who served for just eight months.
According to figures published on Monday by statistics agency Turkstat, the consumer-price index in January recorded a 64.86% increase on a yearly basis. This is a slight rise from the 64.77% inflation rate reported in December. These numbers are in line with economists’ expectations, as per a consensus compiled by FactSet, and signify a slower increase than the previous month.
In January, core prices, which exclude energy, food, drinks, tobacco, and gold, increased by 70.48%. Although this marks a marginally slower rise compared to the previous month, it reflects the continuous upward trend. The services sector, encompassing areas such as hospitality, education, health, and transportation, continued to drive overall price increases. On the other hand, housing and clothing saw the smallest increases among all categories.
Turkey’s central bank has been actively working to combat the surge in price inflation and has achieved some progress in recent months through a series of interest-rate hikes. However, the resignation of Governor Hafize Gaye Erkan over the weekend, citing negative media reports, could raise concerns about the bank’s policy direction.
Moving forward, the central bank will now be led by Fatih Karahan, a former deputy governor and economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
Forecast: 64.9
Previous: 64.77
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