Türkiye's annual inflation dips for 1st time in 18 months

Customers shop at a bazaar in Istanbul, Trkiye, Dec. 5, 2022. (Xinhua/Shadati)

ANKARA, Dec. 5 (Xinhua) -- Annual inflation rate in Trkiye slightly eased in November for the first time in 18 months, dropping to 84.39 percent from 85.51 percent in October, official data showed on Monday.

The slowdown was in line with market expectations, analysts said.

Consumer prices rose 2.88 percent month on month in November, showed the Turkish Statistical Institute data.

The recovery in domestic producer price index was stronger than consumer inflation. Accordingly, annual producer price index, which exceeded 157 percent in October, downed to around 136 percent in November. The producer prices increased by 0.74 percent in this period on a monthly basis.

Customers shop at a bazaar in Istanbul, Trkiye, Dec. 5, 2022. (Xinhua/Shadati)

Inflation was on an uninterrupted rise since May 2021 until November. Turkish households have seen a sharp decline in their purchasing power despite government anti-inflation measures and salary increases.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has vowed that consumer prices rises will soon slow down.

"We will soon witness a rapid decline in inflation, which has been at high levels since December last year," he said on Saturday.

Erdogan is an advocate of low-interest rates in hope of boosting growth and employment with the aim of recording a current account surplus rather than fighting high inflation.

In the last four months, the central bank slashed its benchmark interest rate by 500 basis points to 9 percent.