UPDATE - Turkey’s annual inflation rate at 14.60% in December

UPDATES WITH MORE DETAILS

By Gokhan Ergocun

ISTANBUL (AA) – Turkey saw a 14.60% annual hike in consumer prices in December 2020, the country’s statistical authority said on Monday.

The annual inflation rate rose 0.57 percentage point in the month, up from 14.03% in November, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat).

The consumer price index also saw a 1.25% monthly increase, it added.

Annual inflation in December 2019 was 11.84%.

The highest annual price rise was recorded in miscellaneous goods and services, transportation, and food and non-alcoholic beverages with 28.12%, 21.12% and 20.61%, respectively.

On the other hand, clothing and footwear item posted negative inflation with minus 0.32%.

"Alcoholic beverages and tobacco with 0.65%, communication with 5.73% and education with 6.84% were the other main groups where lowest annual increases were realized," the institute said.

On a monthly basis, the highest increase was posted by furnishings and household equipment with 3.46%, while the largest decrease by clothing and footwear with 3.18%.

Last week, a group of 19 economists surveyed by Anadolu Agency projected the annual inflation in December to have increased to 14.34%.

The government’s year-end inflation target for 2020 was 10.5% as laid out in the new economic program announced in September 2020.