Türkiye's annual inflation climbs to over 67% in February

Türkiye’s annual inflation exceeded expectations and jumped to above 67 per cent in February, official data showed on March 4, keeping up pressure for tight monetary policy amid strong rises in food, hotel and education prices.

Measured in the consumer price index (CPI), the inflation surged to 67.07 per cent over 12 months ending in February, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) said, Daily Sabah reports.

Month-over-month, consumer price inflation was 4.53 per cent, easing from 6.7 per cent a month earlier, the TurkStat data showed.

Shortly before the data, Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek said annual inflation would remain high in the coming months due to base effects and the delayed impact of rate hikes, but would fall in the next 12 months.

In January, annual consumer price inflation was 64.86 per cent.

The Turkish central bank has hiked rates by 3,650 basis points since last June but has now paused its tightening cycle, saying that the current 45 per cent policy rate is sufficient to bring down inflation.

Last month, the bank maintained its 36 per cent year-end inflation target and vowed to keep policy tight for longer to bring inflation down to the forecasted path.

Restaurants and hotels led the price rises, surging 94.5 per cent, followed by a 91.8 per cent rise in education prices. Heavily weighed food and non-alcoholic drinks prices jumped 71.1 per cent.

Economists have said that February inflation was also driven by the lingering impact of this year's minimum wage hike on the services sector.

The domestic producer price index was up 3.74 per cent month-on-month in February for an annual rise of 47.29 per cent, the data showed.