Visitors walk at the historical Grand Bazaar in Istanbul on July 9, 2024. (Photo by Yasin AKGUL / AFP)
Ankara, Turkey — Turkey’s annual inflation rate slowed sharply in July to 61.78 percent, official data showed on Wednesday, as the country battles a cost-of-living crisis.
It is the second consecutive fall after consumer price rises eased to 71.6 percent in June.
“Annual inflation is falling,” Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek said on the social media platform X.
“We continue to get positive results in all areas of our programme, whose main objective is disinflation,” he said.
“The decrease in inflation will be felt more in the coming period.”
READ: Turkish inflation falls to 71.6 percent in June: official data
The central bank began to raise interest rates in efforts to battle inflation last year after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan dropped his opposition to orthodox monetary policy.
The bank kept borrowing costs unchanged at 50 percent for a fourth consecutive month in July.
Inflation traditionally eases during summer in Turkey, as energy consumption falls and tourism brings in foreign currencies.
While the annual inflation rate eased in July, it rose by 3.23 percent compared to June. It had increased by 1.64 percent on a monthly basis in June.
Education, housing, health, and hotel and restaurants saw the biggest price increases.