Monthly inflation was 3.16 percent in March

Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK) announced the consumer and producer price indices for March. Monthly inflation decreased to 3.16 percent in March. Data showed that inflation was 15 percent in the first three months of the year. The Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey's year-end inflation forecast is at 36 percent.

Consumer prices increased by 3.16 percent in March compared to the previous month.
The expectation of institutions participating in the Bloomberg HT survey was that the monthly increase would be 3.5 percent. In the survey, the highest expectation on a monthly basis was 4.4 percent, while the lowest expectation was recorded as 2.7 percent.
According to TÜİK data, annual inflation was 68.50 percent in March.

The annual inflation expectation for March was determined as 69 percent. According to Bloomberg HT survey, the highest expectation for annual inflation is 70.5 percent; The lowest expectation was 67.7 percent.
While annual inflation was 67.07 percent in February, monthly inflation was recorded as 4.53 percent.
 
Core inflation has peaked.

According to TÜİK data, annual core inflation was 75.21 percent in March. In the Bloomberg survey, the expectation was for annual core inflation to be 75.19 percent.
In February, the annual increase in the core indicator was recorded as 72.89 percent. Annual core inflation in March was recorded as the peak level.

The highest increase in March was in education.

When we look at the main expenditure groups, the highest monthly increase was in education with 13.08 percent. Education was followed by communications with 5.65 percent and restaurants and hotels with 3.95 percent. The highest annual increase was seen in the education group. The education group increased by 104.07 percent annually in March. After education, restaurants and hotels came with 94.97 percent, and health came with 80.25 percent.

Of the 143 basic headings covered in the index, as of March 2024, there was a decrease in the index of 14 basic headings, while the index of 8 basic headings remained unchanged. There was an increase in the index of 121 basic headings.
 
Producer inflation also slowed down.

According to TURKSTAT data, there was also a slowdown in producer inflation in March. In March, the producer price index increased by 51.47 percent compared to the same period last year. In February, the annual increase in the index was 47.29 percent. On a monthly basis, there was a 3.29 percent increase in producer prices in March. Monthly producer inflation was 3.74 percent in February.
 
Leading indicators pointed out that the monthly increase series continued
Price indicators for Istanbul and Ankara for March pointed out the continuation of the monthly inflation series.

According to Istanbul Chamber of Commerce (ITO) data, the Istanbul Wage Earnings Index, which measures retail price movements in Istanbul, increased by 3.93 percent monthly and 78.25 percent annually in March.
Thus, the monthly inflation series in Istanbul increased to 57 months.