ANKARA/ISTANBUL, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Türkiye's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Thursday that the inflation in the country has dropped to the lowest level in more than three years, which proves the government's policies, as the Turkish central bank announced to keep its year-end inflation forecast unchanged at 24 percent.
"We have now seen the lowest level of inflation in the last 40 months. This development supports improved expectations at home and reflects positively on Türkiye's credit rating abroad," the state-run TRT broadcaster quoted Erdogan as saying, who told reporters on his flight from Hungary to Türkiye.
He noted that it proved the government's policies were beginning to yield results, saying that the drop in inflation is boosting domestic confidence and improving Türkiye's access to foreign financing.
"The economic prescription we are applying is working, showing we are on the right track. The drop in inflation increases predictability. For this positive outlook to continue, we are paying close attention not only to price stability but also to financial stability and growth dynamics," Erdogan said.
Türkiye has been grappling with rising inflation for years. The annual inflation rate dipped slightly in April to 37.86 percent, down from 38.1 percent in March.
In April, the country's central bank raised its key interest rate by 350 basis points from 42.5 percent to 46 percent, reversing its earlier easing cycle amid signs of a slowdown in the disinflation process.
On Thursday, the Turkish central bank kept its year-end inflation forecast unchanged at 24 percent.
"In this context, we maintain our forecast that inflation will be 24 percent at the end of 2025, the same as in the previous report," said Fatih Karahan, the central bank governor, during the presentation of the second Inflation Report of the year in Istanbul.
"We also kept our 2026 year-end forecast at 12 percent. We aim for inflation to fall to 8 percent in 2027 and to stabilize at 5 percent in the medium term."
Karahan added that the bank was ready to tighten policy if inflation worsens. He noted that increased protectionism in trade, uncertainties regarding global economic policies, and geopolitical risks amplify downside risks to global growth and upside risks to inflation. ■