UPDATE - Türkiye's annual inflation slows to 13-month low in August

UPDATES WITH MORE DETAIL AND REMARKS FROM FINANCE MINISTER

By Tuba Ongun

Türkiye's annual consumer inflation rate eased to 51.97% in August, the lowest since July 2023, according to official data released on Tuesday.

Dropped for the third consecutive month from 61.78% in July, the headline inflation came in below market forecast, TurkStat data showed.

Education continued to post the largest annual hike with 120% in August while transportation saw the lowest rise with 28.96%.

Inflation, excluding energy, food and non-alcoholic beverages, alcoholic beverages and tobacco, decreased to 51.65% in August.

On a monthly basis, consumer prices index rose 2.47% in August, slowing from July's 3.23%.

An Anadolu survey on Friday projected the August inflation at 55.2% on a yearly and 2.64% on a monthly basis.

Commenting on the data, Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek said the food inflation turned to negative for the first time in 4 years.

The cost of food and non-alcoholic beverages dropped 1.10% month-on-month in August while it rose 6.84% for energy, TurkStat data showed.

"We expect a decline in the main trend of monthly inflation in the last quarter due to the effect of strengthened financial stability, balancing in the economy and improvement in expectations. Thus, we expect inflation to come within the forecast range at the end of the year," Simsek wrote on X platform.