Data puts Turkey's annual inflation at 73.5 percent, a 24-year high

Annual inflation in Turkey hit 73.5 percent in May, the highest rate since 1998, according to official data released on Friday as a cost-of-living crisis in the country deepens. The Turkish Statistical Institute said the rate represented an increase of almost 70 percent from the month before.

Annual inflation in Turkey hit 73.5 percent in May, the highest rate since 1998, according to official data released on Friday as a cost-of-living crisis in the country deepens.

The Turkish Statistical Institute said the rate represented an increase of almost 70 percent from the month before. Consumer prices were up nearly three percent from April, the institute reported.

While many countries are seeing rising consumer prices, critics blame Turkey's problems on President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's economic policies.

The Turkish leader insists that high borrowing costs cause inflation - a position that contradicts established economic thinking - and advocates lowering interest rates to boost growth and exports.

Turkey's central bank has cut rates by five percentage points since September, to 14 percent before pausing them in January. The Turkish lira lost 44 percent of its value against the US dollar last year.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which led to a surge in gas, oil, and grain prices, has compounded the situation in import-reliant Turkey.

The sharpest increases in annual prices were in the transportation sector, at 107.6 percent, followed by food and non-alcoholic drinks prices at 91.6 percent, according to the statistical institute's data.