Turkish inflation hits 85.5% as doubts linger over official data
Alternative surveys put Turkey’s inflation rate well above the official figure, nourishing suspicions that the statistics agency is tweaking market realities under government pressure.
Turkey’s annual consumer inflation climbed to a 24-year high of 85.5% in October as prices rose 3.5% month-on-month, the statistics agency announced Thursday amid growing doubts that it could be glossing over gloomier market realities.
Clothing, food and household equipment prices drove the surge in October, rising respectively by more than 8%, 5% and 4% from the previous month, data by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK) showed.
Food inflation hit an annual of 99%, standing out among popular grievances in the run-up to crucial elections next year. The annual price increases topped 117% in the transportation group and 85% in housing expenditures.
The 85.5% consumer inflation — a staggering upsurge from about 20% in October 2021 — is Turkey’s highest since June 1998. In the G20 group of major economies, it is comparable only to that of crisis-ridden Argentina and is about six times the Dutch and Russian rates, the next highest.
