Turkish inflation slows to 44pc

ISTANBUL, May 03 (Arab News): Turkish annual inflation slowed to 43.68 per cent in April, official data showed on Wednesday, easing ahead of elections that polls show President Tayyip Erdogan risks losing largely due to a cost-of-living crisis.
Unorthodox rate cuts sought by Erdogan sparked a currency crisis in late 2021, sending inflation to a 24-year peak of 85.51 per cent last year. It fell in December and touched 50.51 per cent by March with a favorable base effect and a relatively stable lira.
The consumer price index rose 2.39 per cent in April from a month earlier, the Turkish Statistical Institute said. The official numbers were slightly less than predicted, with a median monthly estimate of 2.60 per cent and an annual forecast of 44 per cent in the latest Reuters poll.