ANKARA, March 26 (Xinhua) -- The 12-month-ahead inflation expectations in Türkiye fell to 24.6 percent for market participants in March, down 0.7 percentage points compared with February, showed a survey published Wednesday by Türkiye's central bank.
The survey "Sectoral Inflation Expectations" also showed that 12-month-ahead inflation expectations decreased to 41.1 percent for the real sector in the same period, down 0.8 percentage points compared with last month.
However, household expectations increased by 0.1 percentage points, reaching 59.3 percent in March, the survey showed.
"Although the surveys do not reflect the most recent economic developments, we expect the impact of financial market volatility on inflation expectations to be short-term and limited," Turkish Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek said Wednesday on social media platform X.
He reassured that the government will continue the economic program with determination until price stability is achieved.
On Tuesday, Fatih Karahan, the central bank's chief, reportedly confirmed that the bank had sold 25 billion U.S. dollars from its foreign currency reserves to ease market pressure and stabilize the Turkish lira.
On March 19, the foreign exchange market went through drastic fluctuations, which saw the Turkish lira plunging at one point by as much as 14.5 percent against the dollar, although later trading down around 7 percent.
The market fluctuations coincided with the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, together with dozens of senior municipal officials, as part of an investigation for wide-ranging charges, including graft and terror ties, initiated by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office.
Tens of thousands of Turks have taken to the streets since March 19 after the detention of Imamoglu, who, from the main opposition Republican People's Party, is considered Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's main rival in the next presidential elections.
Speaking on local Haberturk TV on Tuesday night, Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz acknowledged that the developments after the detention of Imamoglu had a negative short-term impact on the Turkish economy, for example, "a certain loss in reserves," but said he does not expect "excessive" and "exaggerated" effects.
There will only be a 1-point to 2-point deviation in inflation expectations due to recent exchange rate movements, he said. ■
