UPDATE - Annual inflation in Türkiye down to 37.8% in April, lowest since 2021

UPDATE WITH COMMENTS FROM TURKISH TREASURY MINISTER; MINOR EDITS

By Gokhan Ergocun

ISTANBUL (AA) - Annual inflation in Türkiye was at 37.86% in April, down from 38.1% in March, official figures from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) said Monday.

The April rate was the lowest Türkiye has seen since December 2021, when it was 36.08%.

The highest price rises on a yearly basis were seen in education with 79.2%, housing 74.07%, and health 41.99%, according to TurkStat data.

The lowest increases were in clothing and footwear with 16.92%, communications 21.31%, and transport 22.76%.

TurkStat said there were three main expenditure groups with the highest weight: food and non-alcoholic beverages with inflation of 36.09%, along with transportation, with 22.76%, and housing, with 74.07%

"The contributions of these main groups to the annual change were 9.21% for food and non-alcoholic beverages, 3.84% for transportation, and 9.98% for housing," it added.

The monthly inflation rate was 3%, up from 2.46% in March.

Mehmet Simsek, the Turkish treasury and finance minister, said on X that annual inflation has been falling for the last 11 months and the disinflation process is continuing.

The mild course of oil prices, tightening domestic financial conditions, and fiscal policy will contribute to disinflation in the days to come, he stressed, adding: "We expect year-end inflation to remain within the forecast range."