Inflation in Turkey hit a new high of 83.4% year-on-year in September, after topping 80.21% in August, official data showed on Monday. This sharp rise in consumer prices is a consequence of the continued collapse of the Turkish lira and a new interest rate cut, from 13% to 12%, announced last week by the Central Bank.
The Turkish currency, which has lost more than half its value since the beginning of the year, was trading Monday morning at 18.56 Turkish liras to a dollar. The Inflation Research Group (Enag), made up of independent Turkish economists who make their own estimates, said on Monday that inflation exceeded 186% in a year, according to its own calculations, with an increase of 5.30% in September.
Almost half of the minimum wage earners
Rising consumer prices are a hot topic in Turkey, less than nine months before the next presidential election. For many Turks, price increases become difficult to sustain: 48% of employees receive the minimum wage, which amounts to 5,500 Turkish lira, or less than $330.
President Erdogan, who says he favors growth and exports over price stability, regularly promises that Turkey will “overcome” the inflation problem after the New Year. But speaking before an economic forum last week, the head of state said that “his enemy is interest rates” and promised to lower them even more.
Source: BFM TV
