ISTANBUL, Jan 3, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Turkey's annual inflation rate slowed for
the seventh consecutive month in December, official figures showed Friday.

Consumer prices rose by 44.3 percent last month, down from 47.1 in November,
the Turkish statistics agency said.

The figure was largely in line with the central bank's estimation after a
year in which price increases slowed less than expected despite higher
interest rates.

Last week, Turkey's central bank lowered its key interest rate for the first
time in nearly two years, dropping it to 47.5 percent from 50 percent.

The last cut was in February 2023.

The central bank had said it was expecting inflation to reach 44 percent by
the end of 2024, up from a previous estimate of 38 percent it had given in
August.

The official figures are disputed by the ENAG group of independent economists
which publishes its own numbers every month and said year-on-year inflation
stood at 83.4 in December.

Turkey has experienced double digit inflation since 2019, with the annual
rate peaking at 85.5 percent in October 2022, making life increasingly
difficult for millions of families.

The government has also pushed through a moderate increase to Turkey's
minimum wage, raising it by 30 percent to 22,104 lira ($600) from January 1.

The figure was far below that demanded by the workers' union, which had
pushed for a 70 percent increase.