Turkish Inflation Jumps to Nearly 59%, More Than Expected 

A teller uses a machine to count Turkish lira banknotes at a foreign exchange office in Ankara on July 20, 2023. (AFP)
A teller uses a machine to count Turkish lira banknotes at a foreign exchange office in Ankara on July 20, 2023. (AFP)
TT
20

Turkish Inflation Jumps to Nearly 59%, More Than Expected 

A teller uses a machine to count Turkish lira banknotes at a foreign exchange office in Ankara on July 20, 2023. (AFP)
A teller uses a machine to count Turkish lira banknotes at a foreign exchange office in Ankara on July 20, 2023. (AFP)

Türkiye’s annual inflation rate surged to a higher-than-expected 58.94% in August, official data showed on Monday, rising for a second month after a steep fall in the lira currency and recent tax increases.

Month-on-month, consumer price inflation was 9.09%, easing slightly from 9.49% a month earlier. Price rises in transportation drove the monthly measure higher, while price increases for hotels, cafes and restaurants drove the annual measure.

Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek - who has spear-headed a summer policy U-turn meant to rein in prices - said the fight against inflation would take time and patience was needed in the transition period.

"We will do whatever is necessary (monetary tightening, credit policy and income policies) to bring inflation under control and then lower it," he said on the social media site X, formerly known as Twitter.

"We are absolutely determined to fight inflation."

In a Reuters poll, annual inflation was predicted to be 55.9% with monthly inflation seen at 7.0%. In July, the annual figure was 47.83%.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's aggressive policy of interest rate cuts set off a currency crisis in late 2021, and sent inflation soaring to a 24-year peak of 85.51% last October.

Since an election runoff in late May this year, the lira has shed 25% of its value as authorities loosened their grip on the exchange rate as part of Erdogan's U-turn toward more orthodox economic policies, including rate rises.

The currency slipped slightly after the price data to 26.78 versus the dollar by 0724 GMT.

The domestic producer price index was up 5.89% month-on-month in August for an annual rise of 49.41%, according to the data from the Turkish Statistical Institute.



Tunisia Gets Offers in 75,000 T Soft Wheat Tender, Traders Say

Agricultural labourers harvest the wheat crop at Chadiala village in the northern Indian state of Punjab April 10, 2008. REUTERS/Ajay Verma (INDIA)
Agricultural labourers harvest the wheat crop at Chadiala village in the northern Indian state of Punjab April 10, 2008. REUTERS/Ajay Verma (INDIA)
TT
20

Tunisia Gets Offers in 75,000 T Soft Wheat Tender, Traders Say

Agricultural labourers harvest the wheat crop at Chadiala village in the northern Indian state of Punjab April 10, 2008. REUTERS/Ajay Verma (INDIA)
Agricultural labourers harvest the wheat crop at Chadiala village in the northern Indian state of Punjab April 10, 2008. REUTERS/Ajay Verma (INDIA)

The lowest price offered in the international tender from Tunisia's state grains agency on Thursday to purchase about 75,000 metric tons of soft wheat was believed to be $262.91 a ton cost and freight (c&f) included, European traders said.

Offers are still being considered and no purchase has yet been reported. The lowest offer is not always accepted if conditions attached to it are regarded as unattractive, Reuters reported.

The lowest offer was believed to have been submitted for optional-origin wheat by trading house Cargill for 25,000 tons, they said.

Cargill also made the next lowest offer of $263.91 also for 25,000 tons, they said.

Reports reflect assessments from traders and further estimates of prices and volumes are still possible later.

Shipment was requested between May 20 and June 30 depending on origin supplied.