UPDATE - Turkey's annual inflation rate at 18.95% in July

UPDATES WITH MORE DETAILS

By Tuba Sahin

ANKARA (AA) – Turkey registered an annual hike of 18.95% in consumer prices in July, the country's statistical authority announced on Tuesday.

The annual inflation climbed 1.42 percentage points from 17.53% a month ago, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) said.

The figure was 11.76% in July 2020.

The highest annual rise was seen in food and non-alcoholic beverages with 24.92%, transportation with 24.62%, and furnishings and household equipment with 22.70% last month.

An Anadolu Agency survey last week showed that a group of 17 economists projected an average annual climb of 18.74% in consumer prices in the month.

Last Thursday, Turkey's Central Bank raised its year-end inflation forecast to 14.1% for 2021, up from 12.2% in its previous report.

On a monthly basis, the consumer price index climbed 1.80% in July.

The median of estimates for July by economists was a 1.62% rise compared to the previous month.

TurkStat data showed that the highest monthly rise was 5.07% in housing while the lowest rise was observed in alcoholic beverages and tobacco with 0.02%.

Among the main expenditure groups, the highest monthly decrease was in clothing and footwear with 2.13%, it added.