Turkey's official annual inflation falls below 30% for the first time since 2021

Turkey’s annual consumer price inflation eased to 29.73% in September from 31.51% in August, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) said on Monday, 5 October. It is the first reading below 30% since November 2021. Monthly prices rose 1.84%, less than the 2.18% expected in a survey by the state-run Anadolu agency.

Where prices are still rising

Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels were 39.99% more expensive than a year earlier, transport 35.10% and food and non-alcoholic beverages 27.62%. Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek said disinflation was spreading across most categories except transport, and that rising oil prices were adding pressure; citing a central bank estimate, he said inflation would have been 7 percentage points lower this year without the war in the Middle East.

Doubts about the data

The independent Inflation Research Group (ENAG) calculated annual inflation at 46.61% in September, down from 49.03% in August. Opposition parties and economists have long questioned the official figures; TurkStat denies that its data are politically manipulated. The central bank kept its key rate at 37% in September, and the data come as a separate investment-fund scandal has led to the liquidation of 131 funds, Turkish Minute reported.