QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – Yearly consumer inflation in Turkey hit 61.14%, on Monday, climbing to a fresh 20-year high and deepening a cost of living crisis for many families.
Consumer inflation jumped from 54.4% in February to 61.1% in March, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute.
The highest yearly price increase was in the transportation sector at 99.12%. Fuel prices, in particular, saw a string of almost daily hikes as a result of global oil price increases last month.
The increase in food prices was 70.33% stoked by problems in the supply of a number of imported goods such as sunflower oil due to the war in Ukraine
In the services group, prices rose some 4.2% in March.
The economic fallout of the Ukraine war has heightened the wariness of foreign investors and Turkey’s risk premium has soared. As a result, the Turkish lira tumbled more.
One US dollar equaled 14.6 Turkish liras in March. This made Turkey’s imports more expensive, adding to producer costs and then to consumer prices.
In an effort to soften the blow on households, the government has implemented tax cuts on basic goods and has adjusted electricity tariffs.