Inflation in Turkey continued to slow in December, reaching 44.3% year-on-year compared to 47.1% in November, official data released on January 3 showed.
The rise in consumer prices, fuelled by the weakness of the Turkish lira, amounted to 1% during the month, AFP reported.
Last week, the Turkish central bank cut its key interest rate for the first time since February 2023, lowering it to 47.5% (-2.5 percentage points), in response to the country's slowing inflation.
Turkey's official price growth statistics are disputed by independent economists at the Inflation Research Group (Enag), which publishes its data every month.
According to them, consumer prices rose 83.4 percent year-on-year in December.
Caught in a devaluation-inflation spiral, Turkey has experienced continuous double-digit inflation since late 2019, making the cost of living hard to bear for many families.
To restore household purchasing power, the Turkish government announced an increase in the minimum wage from January 1 - from 17,000 liras (467 euros) to 22,104 liras (607 euros).
This increase could lead to a return to inflation, economists warn. | BGNES
