Turkish annual consumer price inflation dropped to 50.51 percent in March, slightly below forecast, easing ahead of May 14 presidential and parliamentary elections, Reuters reported, citing official data on Monday.
March consumer prices rose 2.29 percent from a month earlier TRCPI=ECI, less than a predicted 2.85 percent in a Reuters poll.
The poll had forecast that consumer prices TRCPIY=ECI would be up 51.3 percent from a year earlier, and were expected to end the year at 46.5 percent.
Inflation has been stoked by a currency crisis at the end of 2021 and it touched a 24-year peak of 85.51 percent in October. It fell sharply in December and eased only to 55.2 percent in February despite a favorable base effect.
The domestic producer price index was up 0.44 percent month-on-month in March for an annual rise of 62.45 percent, according to the data from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat).
However, the official rate of inflation is disputed by independent economists from the ENAG research group, which estimates that consumer prices in March stood at 112.51 percent, slightly lower than the 126.91 percent they reported in February.
ENAGrup Consumer Price Index (E-CPI) increased by 5.08% in March, 2023
E-CPI increased by 112.51% in the last 12 months
— ENAG (@ENAGRUP) April 3, 2023
