UPDATE - Türkiye's annual inflation at 64.86% in January

ADDS FINANCE MINISTER'S COMMENT ON FIGURES, CHANGING SPOT, EDITS THROUGHOUT

By Gokhan Ergocun

ISTANBUL (AA) - Türkiye's annual inflation rate clocked in at 64.86% in January, the country's statistical office TurkStat revealed on Monday.

Hotels, cafes and restaurants posted the highest increase on a yearly basis in the month with 92.27%, while clothing and footwear saw the lowest with 40.62%.

On a monthly basis, consumer prices increased by 6.7% in January.

The 12-month rolling inflation rate was at 54.72% in January 2024, TurkStat added.

An Anadolu survey predicted a 64.77% rise for annual and 6.84% rise for monthly indexes last week.

Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek said on X that monthly inflation in January rose 6.7% due to temporary effects, while annual inflation was realized at 64.9%.

He stressed that these temporary effects which were largely reflected in January rate, are not expected to affect the tendency of inflation trend.

"As of February, we expect monthly inflation to fall significantly and remain in line with our forecast path. Annual inflation will see a significant decline in the second half of the year," he added.

"Maintaining price stability is our main priority," he said.