Turkey’s Inflation Surges to 48.7 Percent as Erdogan Prepares to Slash Interest Rates Again

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan gives a statement after a cabinet meeting in Ankara, Turkey, on May 17, 2021. Murat Cetinmuhurdar/PPO/Handout via Reuters

Turkey’s annual inflation soared to a 20-year high of 48.69 percent in January, according to data from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK), as President Tayyip Erdogan continues with his unorthodox approach of lowering interest rates in the face of rising inflation.

Consumer prices jumped 11.1 percent from the previous month, and by 48.69 percent from the same time in January last year, up from an annual rate of 36.1 percent in December, TUIK said on Thursday.