ANKARA (Realist English). In June, inflation in Turkey rose to almost 79%. The monthly increase was 4.95%.
According to the Turkish Statistical Institute, the annual inflation rate in June was 78.62%, exceeding all forecasts. This is the highest annual inflation rate in the country in 24 years.
The rapid rise in consumer prices has hit Turkey’s 84 million population hard. Turkish citizens still have an illusive hope for improving their lives in the near future. This is due to the financial and economic policy of Recep Erdoğan, who has been leading the country since 2003 and is fully responsible for the economic collapse in the country. The situation is aggravated by high prices on energy, food, a sharp drop of the lira, as well as the consequences of the conflict on the territory of the former Ukraine.
According to the government, transportation prices jumped by 123.37% compared to 2021, the cost of food and soft drinks increased by 93.93%, furniture and household appliances rose by 81.14%.
In previous years, Turkey has seen rapid growth, but President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has refused to significantly raise rates in the past few years to reduce inflation, calling interest rates the “mother of all evils.” The result was a sharp drop of the Turkish lira and a much lower purchasing power of citizens.
Erdogan has repeatedly instructed the country’s central bank to cut borrowing rates in 2020 and 2021, even though inflation continued to rise. The heads of central banks who expressed disagreement with such a policy were dismissed. During the period from 2020 to the spring of 2021, the Central Bank of Turkey replaced four managers.
