Turkish Inflation Rises to 2.58% in October, Driven by Clothing and Food Prices

People shop at Eminonu district in Istanbul, Türkiye, November 4, 2022. (Reuters)

09:36-3 November 2026 AD ـ 23 Jumada Al-Ula 1448 AH

People shop at Eminonu district in Istanbul, Türkiye, November 4, 2022. (Reuters)

Turkish consumer price inflation climbed to 2.58% month-on-month in October, above expectations and driven by clothing and food price rises, while the annual figure was 29.77%, data from the Turkish Statistical Institute showed on Tuesday.

Clothing and footwear prices surged 12.58% during the month, while food prices rose 3.5% and transport prices were ‌up 2.02%.

In ‌a Reuters poll, monthly ‌consumer ⁠price inflation was forecast to ⁠be 2.4%, driven by higher energy price pressures as well as seasonally higher clothing and food prices, and the annual rate was seen at 29.56%.

In September, consumer prices rose 1.84% month-on-month and 29.73% year-on-year, ⁠below forecasts.

The lira stood at ‌49.9975 against the ‌dollar after the data, compared with a close ‌of 49.9725 on Monday.

The poll's median ‌estimate sees annual inflation at 29.57% by the end of 2026.

Türkiye's central bank kept its year-end interim inflation target at 24% while raising its ‌year-end inflation forecast to 28% in its third inflation report published ⁠in ⁠August.

Last Friday, the central bank said higher energy and commodity prices driven by geopolitical tensions continued to pose upside risks to inflation, a week after it cut its policy rate by 100 basis points to 36% at its October 22 meeting, its first cut since January.

Tuesday's data also showed the domestic producer price index rose 1.65% month-on-month in October for an annual increase of 27.41%.

Europe Entering Winter with Lowest Gas Reserves Since 2013, Says IEA

07 July 2025, Rehden: Technical facilities for the injection and withdrawal of natural gas, including several process water tanks, are located on the grounds of the Rehden natural gas storage facility operated by SEFE Storage GmbH. (dpa)

10:02-3 November 2026 AD ـ 23 Jumada Al-Ula 1448 AH

Europe Entering Winter with Lowest Gas Reserves Since 2013, Says IEA

Europe is entering winter with its lowest level of natural gas reserves since 2013, which could extend pressure on the international market into 2027, the International Energy Agency warned Tuesday.

Europe's natural gas storage reservoirs were 75 percent full at the end of October, well below the minimum target of 80 percent fixed by the European Union and at its lowest level in more than a decade, the IEA said.

Several factors explain the situation.

Natural gas liquefaction facilities in the Gulf have been damaged in US-Iran war, while transit through the Strait of Hormuz has been reduced.

Moreover, European nations are filling their storage reservoirs from low levels at the end of the heating season in the spring.

Buyers had initially held off buying stocks in the hope prices would fall.

Deliveries stepped up in August, September and October, but not enough to make up for the delay, the IEA said.

The amount of gas injected into storage reservoirs this season was about four percent below the average of the past five years, it added.

That makes European nations more dependent upon securing deliveries of additional supplies of LNG to meet peak demand.

It could also make more vulnerable if the winter is colder than usual, there are technical problems in the gas network, or supply problems, said the IEA.

Germany insisted Monday that it would have enough gas for the winter despite missing a storage target.

German gas storage facilities are on average 61 percent full, according to the federal agency that oversees Germany's energy infrastructure and markets.

That is below a legally mandated target for 70 percent by November 1. It also lags behind the European Union average of nearly 75 percent, according to the storage tracking platform AGSI.

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