September 2024 consumer inflation figures announced by Turkey’s Statistical Institute: 2.97 percent monthly

Turkey’s Statistical Institute (TÜİK) announced the consumer inflation figures for September. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased by 2.97% monthly and 49.38% annually. This marks the first time since 2021 that inflation on an annual basis has fallen below the policy interest rate.

Consumer prices increased by 35.86% compared to December of the previous year, and by 63.47% according to the twelve-month averages. Economists had forecast monthly inflation at 2.2% and annual inflation at 48.3% for September.

In August, inflation had dropped significantly due to a base effect, with TÜİK reporting monthly inflation at 2.47% and annual inflation at 51.97%. The Istanbul Chamber of Commerce (ITO) announced that Istanbul’s inflation for September was 3.90% monthly and 59.18% annually, marking the highest monthly inflation rate in five months. According to ENAG (a private inflation research group), inflation in September increased by 5.34% monthly, with an annual rate of 88.63%.

The highest price increase compared to the same month last year was in the housing sector, which rose by 97.87%, while transportation saw the lowest increase at 26.60%. Among spending groups, communication showed a decrease of 0.88% compared to the previous month, while education had the highest monthly increase at 14.21%.

Of the 143 main categories covered by the index, 27 saw a decline in September, 6 remained unchanged, and 110 showed an increase. Core inflation, which excludes unprocessed food, energy, alcoholic beverages, tobacco, and gold, increased by 3.22% monthly and 48.23% annually.