Turkish inflation slows to 42.1pc

ISTANBUL, Feb 03 (AFP): Annual inflation slowed in Turkey in January for the eighth consecutive month, official figures showed Monday.

Consumer prices rose by 42.1 per cent year-on-year, compared with 44.3 per cent a month earlier, figures from Turkey's TUIK statistics institute said.

Turkey has experienced double-digit inflation since 2019, making life increasingly more expensive for millions of people, notably hitting the cost of education, housing, healthcare and restaurants and hotels.

The annual rate peaked at 75 per cent in May before starting to ease from June.

On January 23, Turkey's central bank lowered its key interest rate to 45 per cent from 50 per cent in December, saying its efforts to tame sky-high inflation were starting to pay off.

The official figures are disputed by the ENAG group of independent economists, which gave a January year-on-year estimate of 81 per cent.