Turkish Consumer Prices Rise 9.57 Percent Over 12 Months

ANKARA, Aug 3 (AFP) - Turkish consumer prices increased 0.22 percent in July from the figure for the previous month and by 9.57 percent over 12 months, the state statistics institute announced Tuesday.
This was the fifth month in a row that the consumer price index has stayed below the year-end target of 12 percent, set as part of a tight program of economic recovery watched by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Wholesale prices, meanwhile, decreased by 1.52 percent in July from June, recording an increase of 9.44 percent from July last year, the institute said.
Cutting inflation is a key element of a 16-billion-dollar stand-by deal that Turkey signed with the IMF after a severe financial crisis in 2001.
In 2003, the government beat its inflation target of 20 percent, posting a rate of 18.4 percent.
Ankara is planning to cut inflation down to single digits in 2005.