Turkish inflation resumes rise in January at 1.06%

TURKISH inflation slightly surged 1.06 per cent in January from December after two months of slowdown, reaching an annual rate of 20.35 per cent, driven by higher food prices, official statistics showed on Monday. The highest monthly increase was recorded in food, at 6.43 per cent, according to the Turkish statistics office (TUIK). In recent months, Turkey has been facing a sharp surge in its inflation rate, which hit a 15-year high in October at more than 25 per cent. The central bank revised down its inflation forecast last week. It said 12-month inflation was likely to be 14.6 per cent at the end of 2019, down from the 15.2 per cent estimate given in October. The inflation forecast for 2020 also was cut to 8.2 per cent from 9.3 per cent and the central bank said it hopes price rises will stabilise at around five per cent in the medium term.