According to the Statistical Institute of Turkey (Turkstat), in June, the growth rate of consumer prices decreased to 71.6% year-on-year, compared with 75.45% in May. This was the first slowdown in inflation in the last eight months. The consensus forecast of experts assumed a less significant decrease in growth rates – up to 72.6%. The growth rate of prices for food and non-alcoholic beverages in June decreased to 68.08% compared with 70.14% in May, and for transport services – to 65.67% from 79.1%. Prices for furniture and household goods increased by 67.72% (compared with 69.34% in May), for clothing and shoes – by 47.84% (compared with 50.85%). Prices in hotels, cafes and restaurants increased by 90.67% (compared to 92.94%). The growth rate of the cost of utilities accelerated to 94.72% in annual terms compared with 93.21% a month earlier. The June increase in consumer prices compared to May was 1.64%, which is the lowest since May 2023. In May, the monthly growth was 3.37%. Core inflation, excluding the cost of food, energy, alcohol, tobacco and gold, was 70.4% year-on-year and 1.9% month-on-month in June. In May, these figures were 72.99% and 3.77%, respectively. Producer prices (PPI index) in June increased by 50.09% year-on-year and by 1.38% month-on-month. In May, the growth was 57.68% and 1.96%, respectively. The slowdown in inflation indicates the effectiveness of tightening monetary policy in Turkey. The Central Bank of the country has been keeping the key interest rate at 50% since March. In June 2023, the rate was 8.5%.
