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Turkey’s inflation accelerated less than predicted by economists, as global shocks in food and energy markets compounded domestic pressures from currency depreciation and low interest rates.

Consumer prices rose an annual 78.62% through last month, up from 73.5% in May, Turkey’s statistics agency, or Turkstat, said Monday. The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of 17 analysts was for 79.95%. 

Monthly inflation was 4.95%, compared with the median estimate of 5.73% in a separate survey. 

Below are some of the highlights of the inflation report:

  • Producer prices rose by an annual 138.31%
  • Annual price gains in food accelerated to 93.93% from 91.6% in May
  • A core inflation index, which strips out the impact from volatile items including food and energy, rose to 57.26% from 56.04% during the same period

Markets

The lira was trading 0.1% lower at 16.7715 per dollar as of 10:12 a.m. in Istanbul

Background

  • Price growth has been in the double digits almost without interruption since the start of 2017, but it exploded this year on the back of soaring energy and other commodity costs
  • In Istanbul, Turkey’s commercial center, retail inflation climbed to an annual 94% last month
  • Turkey’s central bank has kept its key rate at 14% for the past six meetings, maintaining an ultra-loose monetary policy in place since late last year
  • Turkey has instead responded to inflation with fringe measures, trying to cool off consumer lending and policies aimed at promoting the use of the local currency
  • President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government on Friday announced an interim increase in the minimum wage for the first time in six years, raising pay by nearly 30%. Turkey already boosted its minimum wage by a record 50.5% in January.
  • The lira remains this year’s worst performer among its emerging markets peers, losing more than 20% against the dollar

Coming up 

  • The central bank will hold its next rate-setting meeting on July 21
  • The central bank will publish its inflation report on July 28

 

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