Turkish inflation slows to 42.1 percent in January
ANKARA

Annual inflation slowed in Türkiye in January for the eighth consecutive month, data from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) showed on Feb. 3.
Consumer prices rose by 42.1 percent year-on-year, compared with 44.3 percent a month earlier.
“The decline in inflation will continue with our stance in fiscal policy, balancing demand and supply-side steps,” Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek said, commenting on the latest inflation data, adding that monthly inflation increased due to seasonal effects.
“Thanks to the policies we have resolutely implemented, annual inflation in core goods is at its lowest level in the last 38 months at 24 percent. Services inflation fell by 27 points compared to the previous year, to 62.9 percent,” Şimşek wrote on X.
“With the contribution of the administered prices that we set in line with the inflation target together with the other steps taken within our program, the lowest January inflation rate of the last 4 years was achieved,” the minister added.
Annual inflation has been falling since last May when it stood at 75.45 percent.
The monthly inflation, however, accelerated from 1.03 percent in December to 5.03 percent last month.
Economists polled by state-run Anadolu Agency had predicted a monthly inflation rate of 4.29 percent in January.
Energy prices saw the slowest increase in nine months, rising by 43.05 percent year-on-year in January, slightly down from 43.11 percent in December.
The annual price hike in food and non-alcoholic beverages eased to 41.76 percent last month, marking its smallest increase since December 2021.
Housing prices rose 68.9 percent compared to January last year, while education prices surged 99.93 percent year-on-year.
The annual increase in restaurant and hotel prices was 49.2 percent.
Core inflation, which excludes volatile items like energy and food, also cooled to a three-year low of 42.65 percent in January.
Inflation expectations of consumers and companies continued to improve in January, a survey by the Central Bank showed last month.
The 12-month ahead inflation expectations of households declined from 63.14 percent in the December survey to 58.8 percent in the January survey.
The proportion of households expecting a fall in inflation in the next 12 months increased by 4.5 points to 30.8 percent.
The 12-month-ahead annual inflation expectations decreased by 1.7 points to 25.4 percent for market participants and by 3.8 points to 43.8 percent for the real sector in January, the bank said.
On Jan. 23, the bank lowered its key interest rate to 45 percent from 50 percent in December, saying its efforts to tame sky-high inflation were starting to pay off.
In its latest quarterly inflation report, released in November, the central Bank forecast that inflation will decline to 21 percent at the end of 2025.