Turkiye inflation rose slightly to 31.5% in February

ANKARA: Turkiye annual inflation rate rose slightly in February to a huge 31.5 percent, up from 30.7 in January after several consecutive months of falling, official figures showed on Tuesday.

On a monthly basis, consumer prices rose 2.96 percent, compared with 4.8 percent in January, driven by housing and food costs, the TUIK statistics agency said.

Food prices rose by 6.8 percent over the course of the month, and housing expenditure by 2.4 percent, the figures showed.

Year-on-year, the price surges were particularly marked in education (up 55.7 percent), housing (42.3 percent) and food (36.4 percent).

As usual, the figures were contested by independent economists from the Inflation Research Group (ENAG), who estimate consumer price inflation rose by 4.01 percent in February, rising to 54.14 percent over the past 12 months.

Turkiye has experienced double-digit inflation since 2019, with the year-on-year figure over 30 percent for the past four years. It rose above 75 percent in May 2024 before beginning to slow. AFP