Türkiye’s annual inflation cooled more than expected in December to end 2024 at nearly 44.4%, official data showed on Friday, almost matching the central bank’s year-end prediction.
Market surveys saw annual inflation falling to about 45.2% last month from 47.09% in November.
Month-over-month, prices rose by 1.03%, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) said, way slower than expected and down from 2.25% in November. Forecasts in surveys ranged between 1.4% and 1.84%.
Furniture prices rose 2.78% from the previous month, data showed, while telecoms-related prices gained by 1.82%.
The latest inflation print was close to the Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye’s (CBRT) midpoint prediction of 44% for the end of 2024.
The central bank, having kept its key interest rate steady at 50% since March, cut it by 250 basis points to 47.5% last week.
The bank said it will set policy “prudently on a meeting-by-meeting basis with a focus on the inflation outlook,” and respond to any expected “significant and persistent deterioration.”
It sees inflation falling to 21% by the end of 2025, and is expected to cut rates further over the coming months.
The Turkish lira was little changed after the data at 35.3850 to the dollar, hovering around the record lows.
The domestic producer price index was up 0.4% month-over-month in December for an annual rise of 28.52%, the TurkStat data showed.
