Turkey's annual inflation rate at 19.89% in October

By Gokhan Ergocun

ISTANBUL (AA) – Turkey registered an annual increase of 19.89% in consumer prices in October, the country's statistical authority announced on Wednesday.

The annual inflation rose by 0.31 percentage points from 19.58% a month ago, while the figure was 11.89% in October 2020, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) said.

Last month, the highest annual rise was seen in food and non-alcoholic beverages with 27.41%, hotels-cafes-restaurants with 25.53%, and furnishings and household equipment with 23.03%.

Last week, an Anadolu Agency survey showed that a group of 18 economists projected an average annual climb of 20.01% in consumer prices in the month.

On Oct. 28, Turkey's Central Bank raised its year-end inflation forecast to 18.4% for 2021, up from 14.1% in its previous report.

On a monthly basis, the consumer price index climbed by 2.39% in October.