Turkey’s official inflation rate has spiralled to nearly 70 percent in April, posing a huge challenge to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose unconventional economic policies are often blamed for the economic turmoil.
The consumer price index rose by 69.97 percent year-on-year in April compared with 61.14 percent in March, the national statistics agency said on Thursday.
Erdogan insists that sharp cuts in interest rates are needed to bring down soaring consumer prices, flying in the face of economic orthodoxy.
The collapse of the lira has pushed up the cost of energy imports and foreign investors are now turning away from the once-promising emerging market.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the coronavirus pandemic have exacerbated the energy price spikes and production bottlenecks.
Analysts say Turkey’s annual inflation rate, the highest since Erdogan’s ruling AK Party stormed to power in 2002, is largely linked to his unconventional economic thinking.
Erdogan has put pressure on the nominally independent central bank to start slashing interest rates.
In April, the bank kept its benchmark interest rate steady for the fourth consecutive month, bowing to pressure despite high inflation.
The biggest price increases in April were in the transport sector, standing at 105.9 percent, while the prices of food and non-alcoholic drinks jumped 89.1 percent.
‘Fleeting trend’
Treasury and finance minister Nureddin Nebati has brushed aside concerns, saying on Monday that the current inflationary trend was fleeting and would “not spread over the long term and be permanent”.
