Turkey's annual inflation falls to 18.71% in May

By Muhammed Ali Gurtas

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey saw an annual hike of 18.71% in consumer prices in May, the country's statistical authority TurkStat reported on Monday.

Last month, the annual inflation went down 0.79 percentage points from 19.50% in April.

TurkStat said the highest annual price increase was recorded in food and non-alcoholic beverages with 28.44% in May.

"Miscellaneous goods and services with 26.75%, furnishing and household equipment with 24.54%, recreation and culture with 20.06% and hotels, cafes and restaurants with 19.77% were the other main groups where high annual increases realized," the institute said.

Last week, an Anadolu Agency survey showed that a group of 17 economists forecast an average annual climb of 19.10% in consumer prices in May.