Türkiye Inflation Falls to 30.9% in December from 44% a Year Earlier

A street vendor sells traditional Turkish bagel "Simit" at Karakoy square, in Istanbul, on December 27, 2025. (Photo by Yasin AKGUL / AFP)
A street vendor sells traditional Turkish bagel "Simit" at Karakoy square, in Istanbul, on December 27, 2025. (Photo by Yasin AKGUL / AFP)
TT

Türkiye Inflation Falls to 30.9% in December from 44% a Year Earlier

A street vendor sells traditional Turkish bagel "Simit" at Karakoy square, in Istanbul, on December 27, 2025. (Photo by Yasin AKGUL / AFP)
A street vendor sells traditional Turkish bagel "Simit" at Karakoy square, in Istanbul, on December 27, 2025. (Photo by Yasin AKGUL / AFP)

Türkiye's annual inflation slowed in December to 30.9 percent, a fourth straight month of declines and well below the 44.4 percent posted a year earlier, official figures showed Monday.

The 12-month annual average for 2025 as a whole stood at 34.9 percent, down from 58.5 percent in 2024, Türkiye's TUIK statistics agency said.

The figure was in line with expectations of Türkiye's central bank, which had forecast year-end inflation of around 31-33 percent.

In May 2024, inflation stood at 75 percent before starting to fall, with the figure now at its lowest level since November 2021.

Türkiye has experienced double-digit inflation since 2019, making life increasingly more expensive for millions of people, after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ordered interest rate cuts in a bid to spur growth.

Over the past year, consumer prices rose notably in education with an increase of 66 percent, housing (49.5 percent), food (28.3 percent) and healthcare costs (30.1 percent), TUIK figures showed.

The official figures are disputed by ENAG, a group of independent economists that publishes its own data every month, with the organization saying year-on-year inflation stood at 56.14 percent in December.

They said that month-on-month, prices had risen by 2.11 percent in December from November.

Last month, Türkiye's central bank cut its benchmark interest rate to 38 percent from 39.5 percent as annual inflation slows.

But it warned that despite showing signs of improvement, inflation expectations and pricing behavior "continue to pose risks to the disinflation process.”



Oil Dips on Ample Supply Outlook, Market Weighs Venezuelan Output

FILE PHOTO: Crude oil drips from a valve at an oil well operated by Venezuela's state oil company PDVSA, in the oil rich Orinoco belt, near Morichal at the state of Monagas April 16, 2015. Picture taken on April 16, 2015. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Crude oil drips from a valve at an oil well operated by Venezuela's state oil company PDVSA, in the oil rich Orinoco belt, near Morichal at the state of Monagas April 16, 2015. Picture taken on April 16, 2015. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins/File Photo
TT

Oil Dips on Ample Supply Outlook, Market Weighs Venezuelan Output

FILE PHOTO: Crude oil drips from a valve at an oil well operated by Venezuela's state oil company PDVSA, in the oil rich Orinoco belt, near Morichal at the state of Monagas April 16, 2015. Picture taken on April 16, 2015. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Crude oil drips from a valve at an oil well operated by Venezuela's state oil company PDVSA, in the oil rich Orinoco belt, near Morichal at the state of Monagas April 16, 2015. Picture taken on April 16, 2015. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins/File Photo

Oil prices fell on Tuesday on expectations of ample global supply amid weak demand, and as the market weighed the prospect of higher Venezuelan crude output following the US capture of President Nicolas Maduro.

Brent crude futures fell 0.2%, or 14 cents, to $61.62 a barrel by 0450 GMT while US West Texas Intermediate crude was at $58.13 a barrel, down 0.3% or 19 cents.

Priyanka Sachdeva, senior market analyst at brokerage Phillip Nova, noted the oil price response to major geopolitical events, such as the US military action in Venezuela and ongoing strikes on Russian ‌energy infrastructure, had ‌been surprisingly muted, suggesting fundamental demand-supply factors remained the ‌key ⁠concern.

"From a ‌supply perspective, the oil complex remains packed with barrels. According to the latest International Energy Agency (IEA) and US Energy Information Administration (EIA) data, global crude supply continues to outpace consumption growth, pushing inventories higher and keeping downward pressure on prices," she said. Market participants polled by Reuters in December said they expected oil prices to be under pressure in 2026 due to growing supply and weak demand.

Price pressure ⁠could be exacerbated by the US capture of Venezuela's leader on Saturday, increasing the chance of ‌an end to a US embargo on Venezuelan ‍oil and potentially leading to higher ‍output. Maduro pleaded not guilty in a New York court on Monday ‍to narcotics charges. The administration of US President Donald Trump plans to meet US oil executives this week to discuss boosting Venezuelan oil production, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters.

"I think if the Trump playbook even partially comes to pass, Venezuelan crude oil production should increase... Should it increase, there will be more pressure on an already over-supplied market," said Marex ⁠analyst Ed Meir. Venezuela is a founding member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and has the world's largest oil reserves at about 303 billion barrels. However, its oil sector has long been in decline due in part to under-investment and US sanctions.

Its average output last year was 1.1 million barrels per day. Oil analysts said Venezuelan output could increase up to half a million barrels a day over the next two years with political stability and US investment.

ANZ Research said in a note, however, that they saw heightened levels of political instability as the more likely scenario, and that a significant injection ‌of funds would be required to increase output beyond Venezuela's current effective capacity.


Gold Hits One-week High on Fed Rate-cut Bets, Venezuela Turmoil

FILE PHOTO: UK gold bars and gold Sovereign coins are displayed at Baird & Co in Hatton Garden in London, Britain, October 8, 2025. REUTERS/Hiba Kola//File Photo
FILE PHOTO: UK gold bars and gold Sovereign coins are displayed at Baird & Co in Hatton Garden in London, Britain, October 8, 2025. REUTERS/Hiba Kola//File Photo
TT

Gold Hits One-week High on Fed Rate-cut Bets, Venezuela Turmoil

FILE PHOTO: UK gold bars and gold Sovereign coins are displayed at Baird & Co in Hatton Garden in London, Britain, October 8, 2025. REUTERS/Hiba Kola//File Photo
FILE PHOTO: UK gold bars and gold Sovereign coins are displayed at Baird & Co in Hatton Garden in London, Britain, October 8, 2025. REUTERS/Hiba Kola//File Photo

Gold rose further on Tuesday to hit a one-week high, as dovish comments from Federal Reserve officials boosted interest rate-cut bets and Venezuela tensions bolstered safe-haven demand.

Spot gold was up 0.5% at $4,469.96 per ounce, as of 0534 GMT, after rising nearly 3% in the last session. Bullion hit a record high of $4,549.71 on December 26, and logged its best annual ‌performance since ‌1979 last year with a jump ‌of ⁠64%.

US gold ‌futures for February delivery rose 0.7% to $4,481.30, Reuters reported.

"(Comments by Fed officials) certainly didn't hurt but it doesn't look like the calculus has changed all that much. We of course have a big week this week with the jobs report on Friday," said Ilya Spivak, head of global macro at Tastylive.

Minneapolis Fed President Neel ⁠Kashkari said on Monday inflation was slowly easing, but there was a risk ‌the jobless rate could "pop" higher, increasing the ‍likelihood of a rate cut.

Investors currently ‍expect at least two rate cuts this year, while they ‍look to the nonfarm payroll report, due on Friday, for more monetary policy cues.

Toppled Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro pleaded not guilty on Monday to narcotics charges after US President Donald Trump's capture of him rattled world leaders and left officials in Caracas scrambling to regroup.

"The capture of Maduro illustrated this rupture ⁠between the US and China and more broadly (the ongoing trend of) de-globalization," Spivak said.

Non-yielding assets tend to do well in a low-interest-rate environment and during times of geopolitical or economic uncertainty.

Spot silver gained 3.5% to $79.18 per ounce, after hitting an all-time high of $83.62 on December 29. Silver ended 2025 with annual gains of 147%, far outpacing gold, in what was its best year on record.

Spot platinum was up 2.8% at $2,334.25 per ounce, after rising to an all-time high of $2,478.50 last Monday. It rose more than 5% ‌earlier in the session to a one-week high.

Palladium traded 1.9% higher at $1,739.25 per ounce.


Egypt Signs MoU to Supply Syria with Gas, Ministry Says

Crowds gather in a street decorated with lights during New Year celebrations in Damascus, Syria, 31 December 2025. (EPA)
Crowds gather in a street decorated with lights during New Year celebrations in Damascus, Syria, 31 December 2025. (EPA)
TT

Egypt Signs MoU to Supply Syria with Gas, Ministry Says

Crowds gather in a street decorated with lights during New Year celebrations in Damascus, Syria, 31 December 2025. (EPA)
Crowds gather in a street decorated with lights during New Year celebrations in Damascus, Syria, 31 December 2025. (EPA)

Egypt has signed two memoranda of understanding (MoU) with Syria to cooperate on supplying gas for power generation and ‌meeting Syria's ‌petroleum product ‌needs, Egypt's ⁠petroleum ministry ‌said on Monday.

The statement said that Syria would receive gas through regasification ships or gas ⁠transportation networks, without providing details ‌on quantities.

Due ‍to ‍the destruction of ‍energy infrastructure during its 14-year civil war, Syria today produces just a fraction of the electricity it needs, though ⁠the supply of power has improved notably in the past months thanks to supplies of gas from Azerbaijan and Qatar.