Istanbul, May 5, (dpa/GNA) - In April, consumer prices in Turkey rose by almost 70% compared to the same month last year, the statistics office announced in Ankara on Thursday.
In March, the inflation rate was around 61%. On a monthly basis, consumer prices rose by 7.25% in April.
Producer prices show how significant the price pressure is at upstream economic levels. They rose by some 121% in April compared to the same month last year, after almost 115% in March. Producer prices are thus more than twice as high as a year ago.
Producer prices generally influence the cost of living for consumers indirectly and with a time lag.
The inflation rate in Turkey is driven by several factors. For some time now, the weak national currency, the lira, has been causing considerable price increases, as goods imported into Turkey become more expensive as a result.
In addition, there are considerable problems in the international supply chains, which make primary products more expensive.
The prices of many raw materials are also rising, not least because of the Russian war on Ukraine.
The Turkish central bank is not resisting this development by raising interest rates but has even lowered them despite high inflation rates, in line with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s demands.
Critics blame Erdogan’s unorthodox theory that higher rates cause higher inflation for spiralling inflation.
GNA