Türkiye's annual inflation falls to 64.27 pct in Dec.-Xinhua

People shop at a market in Ankara, Türkiye, on Jan. 3, 2023. Türkiye's annual inflation fell sharply to 64.27 percent in December due to a base effect, official data showed on Tuesday. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)

ANKARA, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) -- Türkiye's annual inflation fell sharply to 64.27 percent in December due to a base effect, official data showed on Tuesday.

The decline was in line with expectations and owed largely to the statistical effect of the high base in the same month of 2021.

Consumer prices increased by 1.18 percent in December from the previous month, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute.

In the last report of the Turkish central bank, the year-end inflation expectation was 65.2 percent.

The annual producer price index, which was 136 percent in November, downed to 97.72 percent in December.

Inflation in Türkiye hit nearly 85.5 percent, a 24-year high, in October after rising for 17 months, and dropped slightly in November to 84.39. Turkish households have seen a sharp decline in their purchasing power despite government anti-inflation measures and salary increases.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan supports low-interest rates in the hope of boosting economic growth and employment. The monetary policy has weakened the Turkish lira by more than 50 percent since September 2021 and fueled a flight from the currency.

Erdogan, who is seeking another term in office in this year's elections, has repeatedly defended his unconventional economic policies, promising that the country will "overcome" the inflation problem in the new year. ■

A woman shops at a market in Ankara, Türkiye, on Jan. 3, 2023. Türkiye's annual inflation fell sharply to 64.27 percent in December due to a base effect, official data showed on Tuesday. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)