Inflation in Turkey fell below 40% in May for the first time in 16 months, thanks mainly to a temporary measure to provide free gas to households.

The consumer price index rose to 39.6% on an annual basis and remained almost stable, a difference of +0.04%, compared to the previous month, the Turkish Statistical Service announced.

However, these official figures are disputed by independent economists of the Inflation Research Group (Enag). According to them, annual inflation ranges between 105% and 109%.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, just re-elected for a third term, has said he wants to make the fight against inflation a priority.

Inflation had topped 85% in the autumn, before starting to slow from November.

The slowdown is also linked to a pre-election measure by Erdogan, who announced free gas for households in May, who will continue to get free 25 cubic meters of gas per month until May 2024.

Turkey’s new finance minister, Mehmet Simsek, said on Sunday that the country should return “to the realm of rationality” in order for the economy to recover.

At the same time, today the vice president of the Turkish government, Cevdet Yilmaz, said today that his priority is to deal with inflation, stressing that he will pay special attention to improving Turkey’s investment environment.