ISTANBUL (AFP) – Turkiye’s inflation rate slowed for a fourth consecutive month in February, official data showed yesterday, ahead of May elections in which President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s economic record will be a key issue for voters.
The inflation report comes as the government prepares to pour billions of dollars into rebuilding huge swathes of Turkiye following the massive earthquake that struck on February 6.
Scores of cities were devastated and more than 50,000 people were killed in Turkiye and neighbouring Syria, leaving millions needing urgent need.
Before the disaster, Erdogan’s government was already fighting runaway inflation and mending fences with rich Gulf countries to keep its economy afloat.
The spending for post-quake recovery could turbo-charge consumer spending and industrial production, two key indicators of economic growth, but also spur a rebound in inflationary pressures.
Consumer prices grew at an annualised rate of 55.2 per cent in February, down from 57.7 per cent in January and 64.3 per cent in December, the state statistics agency said. It peaked at 85.5 per cent last October, the highest rate during Erdogan’s two decades of rule.
Official inflation rate is contested by independent economists from the research group Enag, which estimates that consumer prices accelerated again in February to 126.9 per cent from 121.6 per cent in January.
Timothy Ash of BlueBay Asset Management said that while Turkish inflation was moderating marginally, the headline figure remains over 55 per cent year-on-year “if anyone still believes official data”.
“Erdogan will want to use the pitch of falling inflation as an election tool and his unorthodox policies are working,” he tweeted.
On Wednesday, Erdogan ruled out any delay in elections even though he said 3.3 million people had been forced to leave their homes in the disaster areas.
The 11 affected provinces are still being hit by strong aftershocks from the quake, which make the likelihood of campaigning in the area extremely unlikely. Erdogan said the vote would go ahead on May 14 as planned, and Turkiye’s fragmented opposition is due to nominate a candidate on Monday.
