Turkey’s inflation rate jumped to an astonishing 83.5% year-on-year in September, in line with expectations, according to Bloomberg, which cited Turkish Statistical Office data.
Currency deterioration has almost permanently been in double figures since the beginning of 2017, but due to rising raw material prices and the central bank’s refusal to hike interest rates, it accelerated to a 25-year high last month.
Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdogan denied the economic theory that hiking interest rates would offset inflation, instead choosing to lower them and solely blaming Russia’s invasion of Ukraine for the nation’s downturn.
Core inflation, which is measured without volatile items including energy and food, however, was still 68% higher year-on-year, ruling out the president’s claim that the war in Ukraine was exclusively responsible for Turkey’s tough times.
Erdogan predicted that the benchmark interest rate will be lowered to approximately 10% by the end of the year, down from 12%.
Despite this, the nation’s officials refuse to accept the rampant consumer price index is a result of their mistakes in monetary policy.
Food and non-alcoholic beverages, which make up roughly 25% of the consumer basket, were up almost double compared to last year at 93.1% in September.
Housing costs accelerated the fastest, by 10% on a monthly basis and 85% over the year, while energy surged 133% compared to September 2021 and shipping costs increased by 118%.
Istanbul and other parts of the country, meanwhile, were experiencing inflation rates of over 100% as the government aims to alleviate the crisis ahead of Turkey’s next election in June.
The nation’s government has raised the minimum wage twice already this year.
How does the 83.5% compare to other nations?
France has managed to keep a lid on price rises, relative to most other nations globally, with inflation at 5.6% in September.
Amongst those in the G20, which is an intergovernmental forum comprising 19 countries and the European Union, China had the lowest consumer price index of 2.5% in August.