Turkey’s inflation rate soars nearly 25% in September

Turkey’s inflation rate soared to 24.5 percent in September from 11.2 percent a year earlier, hitting its highest level in 15 years.

Inflation rose 6.3 percent month-on-month, according to official data released by the Turkish Statistical Institute on Wednesday.

The rise in consumer price inflation was driven by mounting transportation costs, which rose 37 percent year-on-year (YoY); food prices jumped 28 percent and miscellaneous goods and services surged 31 percent.

The Lira plunged 1.44 percent following the news. The currency has lost about 40 percent of its value against the US Dollar since the start of the year after US President Donald Trump called for increased tariffs on the country. 

Turkey’s Central Bank increased its benchmark interest rate last month to 24 percent, an increase of 625 basis points from the previous rate of 17.75 percent, in an effort to get inflation under control.