Yearly inflation in Turkey reached 36% in December, pointing serious difficulties in the large economy of the NATO member state, British public broadcaster BBC reports.
Most affected during the period of very high inflation have been the costs of transport, food and other staples. The national currency, the Turkish lira, lost 44% of its value against the US dollar in 2021 and on Monday, January 3, it lost another 4%.
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Addressing business leaders on Monday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, noted a speech that Turkey was «going through a transformation in economy and rising to the next league». According to him, the nation is «reaping the fruits especially in exports of our country’s efforts and hard work in the past 20 years to bolster our foreign trade».
Normally, central banks increase interest rates to help slow inflation down, yet the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey has cut rates to 14% from 19% since September 2021. The following accelerating surge in prices and a decrease in the value of the lira have hit household and company budgets hard, BBC reports.