UPDATE - Turkey’s annual inflation rate at 15.61% in February

UPDATES WITH MORE DETAILS

By Gokhan Ergocun

ISTANBUL (AA) – Turkey posted a 15.61% annual rise in consumer prices in February, the country’s statistical authority announced on Wednesday.

The annual figure climbed 0.64 percentage points last month, up from 14.97% in January, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat).

The highest annual price increase last month was seen in furnishings and household equipment with 23.74%, followed by transportation (22.47%) and miscellaneous goods and services (20.61%).

"The lowest annual increase was 2.87% in alcoholic beverages and tobacco," the institute said.

Month-on-month, the consumer price index climbed 0.91% in February.

The highest monthly decline was 2.32% in miscellaneous goods and service among the main groups, while health posted the highest monthly rise with 3%.

Economists polled by Anadolu Agency last week projected the February inflation rate would be 15.45%.

Under the new economic program announced by the government last September, Turkey’s inflation rate target for this year is 8%.

The Central Bank’s year-end inflation forecast for 2021 is 9.4%.

The official figures also showed that the 12-month average hike in consumer prices as of February was 12.81%.