Inflation rises in Turkey as lira falls for ninth consecutive day
Turkey’s lira hit new lows Tuesday, becoming the worst-performing emerging market currency of the year following a rise in inflation last month.
ISTANBUL — The Turkish lira continued a downward slide against major currencies for a ninth consecutive day Tuesday, passing Brazil’s real to become the year’s worst performing emerging market currency.
Down about 30% since the start of 2020, the lira was trading at record lows of about 8.53 per dollar and nearly 10 per euro at 5 p.m. in Istanbul Tuesday. The currency’s ongoing devaluation comes amid inflation concerns, recessionary pressures spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic and possible impacts of the US presidential election.
The developments come as the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) reported Tuesday annual inflation increased to 11.89% in October, up from 8.55% year-on-year. Food costs were among the key drivers of consumer price increases last month, rising 16.5% for the year from 14.95% in September.
Meanwhile, producer prices rose 18.2% year-on-year, the highest rate increase since July 2019. Selva Demiralp, a professor of economics at Koc University and director of the Koc University-TUSIAD Economic Research Forum, said other sectors that registered the highest monthly increases were clothing and home appliances.
