ENAG January inflation rate doubles TurkStat

The first inflation figures for the year have been disclosed by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) and the Inflation Research Group (ENAG). While ENAG reported an annual inflation rate of 129 percent, TurkStat announced that the inflation rate was only half of what ENAG indicated.

According to TurkStat, inflation in January reached 6.70 percent compared to the previous month and 64.86 percent compared to the same month of the previous year.

The main group with the least monthly increase was clothing and footwear, showing a decrease of -1.61 percent. In contrast, the group with the highest increase compared to the previous month in January was health, with a rate of 17.68 percent.

On an annual basis, the main group with the least increase was clothing and footwear, with a rate of 40.62 percent. In contrast, the group with the highest increase compared to the same month of the previous year was restaurants and hotels, with a rate of 92.27 percent.

TurkStat defies court order

TurkStat, despite releasing data on June 4, 2022, has once again not published the basket of goods list, a practice it discontinued. However, the Revolutionary Workers' Unions Confederation (DİSK) had filed a lawsuit against TurkStat on this matter, and the 6th Administrative Court in Ankara ruled on March 31, 2023, that the information requested by DİSK from TurkStat falls within the union's duties and should be provided under the right to information.

Instead of the basket of goods list, TurkStat, according to the spending group statistics, reported that in December, out of the 143 basic items covered in the index, 112 saw an increase, 20 saw a decrease, and 11 remained unchanged.

ENAG, on the other hand, reported a monthly inflation rate of 9.38 percent in January. It measured the annual inflation rate at 129.11 percent.

ENAG noted that, considering TurkStat subgroups as indicators, the least monthly increase was 0.00 percent in health, while the highest increase was 16.42 percent in the clothing and footwear category.

The İstanbul Chamber of Commerce had also announced four days ago that the 12-month inflation rate in İstanbul was 76.17 percent. (HA/VK)