The Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK - TurkStat) announced an increase in the consumer inflation rate for September 2020 compared with the previous month as 0.97%, resulting in the annual-to-date rate coming at 11.75%, only marginally below the previous month’s rate of 11.77%. Market analysts had predicted a higher annual rate increase of just over 12%.
The highest monthly increase was recorded in household goods with 3.02%, followed by transportation with 1.84%, housing with 0.93%, entertainment and culture with 0.88%, health with 0.87%, restaurants and hotels with 0.74%, food and non-alcoholic beverages with 0.66%, and miscellaneous goods and services with 0.63%. The lowest monthly increase was recorded in alcoholic beverages and tobacco with 0.04%, followed by communications with 0.28%. The highest monthly decrease was recorded in education with 0.07%, followed by clothing and footwear with 0.03%.
The highest annual increase was recorded in miscellaneous goods and services with 25.17%, followed by health with 15.09%, food and non-alcoholic beverages with 14.96%, transportation with 12.95%, household goods with 11.34%,
restaurants and hotels with 10.92%, and housing with 10%. The lowest annual increases were recorded in alcoholic beverages and tobacco with 0.68%, followed by communications with 6.74%, clothing and footwear with 6.91%, education with 7.55%, and entertainment and culture with 8.12%.
There is much speculation as to the accurateness of the inflation figures produced by TurkStat as ordinary citizens understandably feel that they have experienced a much higher rise in the cost of living over the last year. In the New Economic Program announced on 29.09.2020, the yearend inflation forecast for 2020 was 10.5%, with a fall to 8% in 2021, to 6.0% in 2022, and 4.9% in 2023. The inflation rate is currently now 1.50 percentage points above the Turkish Central Bank’s policy interest rate of 10.25%.