Consumer prices in Türkiye rose 1.29 percent in September compared to August, pushing annual inflation to 10.55 percent, according to the Turkish Statistics Institute. The monthly figure exceeded the 0.98 percent average forecast drawn from a Central Bank survey of roughly 70 economists, bankers, and business representatives.
Producer prices moved in the opposite direction, slipping 0.23 percent month-on-month, though annual producer inflation reached 11.19 percent. Inflation has climbed steadily through most of 2006, driven by higher oil costs and a weaker lira tied to domestic political uncertainty and capital outflows from emerging markets.
The Central Bank now projects year-end inflation in the range of 9.1 to 10.5 percent, roughly double its original 5.0 percent goal. Officials nonetheless maintain that the 2007 target of 4.0 percent is achievable if strict monetary policy is sustained.
Curbing inflation is central to Türkiye's three-year economic stabilization program, backed by a 10-billion-dollar IMF loan. That partnership had previously helped bring inflation down from 29.7 percent in 2002 to 7.7 percent in 2005.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in October 2006, in its own words.