Turkish inflation slows to 44.3 pc in December
International Desk
Turkey's annual inflation rate slowed for the seventh consecutive month in December, official figures showed Friday.
Consumer prices rose by 44.3% last month, down from 47.1 in November, the Turkish statistics agency said.
The figure was largely in line with the central bank's estimation after a year in which price increases slowed less than expected despite higher interest rates.
Last week, Turkey's central bank lowered its key interest rate for the first time in nearly two years, dropping it to 47.5% from 50%.
The last cut was in February 2023.
The central bank had said it was expecting inflation to reach 44% by the end of 2024, up from a previous estimate of 38% it had given in August.
The official figures are disputed by the ENAG group of independent economists which publishes its own numbers every month and said year-on-year inflation stood at 83.4 in December.
Turkey has experienced double digit inflation since 2019, with the annual rate peaking at 85.5% in October 2022, making life increasingly difficult for millions of families.
The government has also pushed through a moderate increase to Turkey's minimum wage, raising it by 30% to 22,104 lira ($600) from 1 January.
The figure was far below that demanded by the workers' union, which had pushed for a 70% increase.
