In May, Turkey’s annual consumer inflation rate surpassed 75%, the highest in the past 18 months. This was announced by official data released on Monday. The Finance and Economy Minister Mehmet Simsek tried to calm the public and international investors by stating that “the worst is over.”
The year-on-year inflation, which rose to 75.45% last month, was primarily driven by increasing prices in the education, housing, and restaurant sectors. According to the Turkish Statistical Institute, this May marked Turkey’s highest year-on-year inflation since November 2022 when it reached 84.38%.
In contrast, the year-on-year inflation in April was 69.8%, a significant increase from April 2023’s 46.68%. Month-on-month inflation for May was slightly higher than the previous month’s 3.18%. Despite these concerns, Simsek reassured the public that they were at the end of their fight against inflation and that disinflation would soon begin. He predicted a noticeable decline in inflation would start in June and estimated that annual inflation would drop below 50% by the end of the third quarter of 2024.
Turkey’s Central Bank had anticipated this peak in annual inflation and had projected a 38% year-end rate earlier in the month. However, after raising interest rates from 50% to their current level of