Turkish Central Bank revises inflation forecasts

The Turkish Central Bank on Wednesday forecasted Turkey's year-end inflation rate to reach 23.5%.

"We project the inflation rate to converge gradually to the target under the assumption of a tight monetary policy stance and enhanced policy coordination focused on bringing inflation down," Central Bank Governor Murat Cetinkaya said in a news conference in Istanbul ahead of the release of the bank’s quarterly inflation report.

The bank also foresees year-end inflation for 2019 to reach 6.5%.

Cetinkaya said the inflation rate is expected to stabilise at the bank's medium-term target of 5% in the medium term after it drops to 9.3% by 2020's year-end.

He added the inflation rate would fluctuate between 21.9% and 25.1% through to the end of 2018.

The rise in the forecast has been driven by the upward revision in the projections of lira-denominated import prices, food inflation and inflation at third quarter in 2018, Cetinkaya noted.

According to Turkey's statistical authority on October 3, the country's annual inflation reached 24.52% in September.