ANKARA, Jan 3 (AFP) - Turkey said Monday that inflation in 2004 had been 9.32 percent, below the 12 percent year-end target set in an IMF-backed economic recovery programme.
Cutting chronic inflation is a key element of a 16-billion-dollar stand-by deal Turkey signed with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) after a severe financial crisis in 2001 plunged the country into its worst recession since World War II.
The programme is set to expire in February and last month, Turkey and the IMF agreed on a new three-year stand-by deal worth 10 billion dollars (7.4 billion euros) to strengthen recovery of the Turkish economy.
Consumer prices rose 0.45 percent in December from the previous month, bringing inflation to 9.32 percent in the past 12 months, the state statistics institute said.
Wholesale prices increased by 0.13 percent in December compared to November -- up 13.84 percent over the past 12 months.
This was the third time in a row that Turkey has beaten its inflation projection. In 2002, the country brought inflation down to 29.7 percent from 68.5 percent in 2001, beating its year-end target of 35 percent.
Last year, inflation was cut to 18.4 percent, below the year-end target of 20 percent.
01/03/2005 14:58 GMT - AFP