Turkish inflation cooled for the third consecutive month in January. While the cost of living in Turkey was nearly two-thirds higher last month than a year ago, the cooling boosts President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ahead of the presidential and parliamentary elections due in May.
According to Turkey’s statistics agency, consumer prices rose 57.7 percent year-on-year in January, compared to 64.3 percent in December. The strong increases in inflation in Turkey had already ended in November. It peaked at 85.5 percent in October compared to a year earlier. However, some economists say real inflation is much higher than the official figure.
The cooling of inflation is partly due to a fall in energy prices. For example, natural gas prices have fallen back to early 2022 levels after soaring in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This also resulted in lower inflation in many European countries.
Turkey is pursuing an unorthodox economic policy under Erdogan. For example, at the request of Erdogan, the central bank cut interest rates several times despite inflation. In other countries, interest rates are raised to combat inflation.
In addition, because the president’s popularity came under fire due to the high inflation, Turkey has taken several measures to improve the purchasing power of the Turkish population. For example, the minimum wage increased by 55 percent this year compared to 2022.
