The announcement of the Turkish Statistical Service for official inflation of 36.08% in December, the highest since 2002, when the forecasts spoke of 27.3%, brought a New Year’s economic earthquake, while no one knows the amount of the unofficial.
However, Erdogan preferred to start his election campaign informally, even though the 2023 elections are far away, and he visited a cafe in Istanbul where he admired … tea.
Citizens on the other hand are groaning as the increases have upset family budgets. For example, electricity increases by up to 125% and natural gas by 25%.
“I put my dishwasher in every 15 days and I do this so that it does not rust. I also turn off the TV. In the evening we turn on low lights, the washing machine twice a week. “With such increases we are doing this,” says a woman in Turkey.
“If we exceed the minimum limit, we will turn off the electricity. Our income is specific. With the new year increases in electricity, increases in gas. “The year started with new increases”, says another Turkish citizen.
And price increases are not expected to stop here. Producer prices increased by 19.1% and on an annual basis by 79.89%, a number that foretells even greater price increases. Thus, the announcement of the Central Bank that it maintains the inflation target at 5% in 2022 is impressive, emphasizing that it will be achieved thanks to Erdogan’s policy of low interest rates, which all economists consider absurd.
“Inflation went from 19.6% to 36.1%, which is why they told us that interest rates are the cause and inflation is the result. Interest rates fell, inflation escaped. Our currency has lost all value. “I wonder if Erdogan will avoid responsibility for this scandal,” said Republican People’s Party spokesman Faik Oztrak.
However, the contradictory announcements of inflation and the Central Bank again plunged the value of the pound. The dollar reached 13.94 pounds, a price that led to a new government intervention to support the currency, exhausting the already low foreign exchange reserves of the neighbor.
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