Turkey’s annual inflation rose to 68.5% for the month of March, a rise on February’s 67.1% inflation learn, in response to the Turkish Statistical Institute’s report released Wednesday.

The month-to-month rise in client costs got here out at 3.16%, led by training, communication, and accommodations, eating places and cafes, which noticed month-on-month rises of 13%, 5.6%, and three.9%, respectively.

On an annual foundation, training once more noticed the very best price inflation at 104% year-on-year, adopted by accommodations, eating places and cafes at 95% and well being at 80%.

Turkey has launched a concerted effort to deal with hovering inflation with rate of interest hikes, most lately elevating the nation’s key fee from 45% to 50% in late March.

A lot of the inflation in latest months stems from a big increase to the minimum wage that Turkey’s authorities mandated for 2024. The minimal wage for the yr rose to 17,002 Turkish lira (round $530) monthly in January, a 100% hike from the identical interval a yr prior.

Economists count on additional fee hikes from the central financial institution will probably be crucial.

Whereas the March inflation rely represents “the smallest month-to-month enhance in three months and means that the impression of the massive minimal wage hike in January might now have largely handed, it’s nonetheless removed from per the single-digit inflation that policymakers are attempting to attain,” Nicholas Farr, an Rising Europe economist at London-based Capital Economics, wrote in an analyst be aware Wednesday.

“The newest inflation figures do little to alter our view that additional financial tightening lies in retailer and {that a} extra concerted effort to tighten fiscal coverage will probably be wanted too,” he stated.