Türkiye: annual inflation exceeds 50% in March, and activity returns to factories
The Turkish Statistics Authority announced, on Monday, that the consumer price index (inflation) in Turkey increased by 2.29% in March, to 50.51% on an annual basis.
The authority stated, according to the “Anatolia” agency, that, given the average of the 12 months of the past year, inflation increased by 70.20%, as well as the prices of local producers by 113.73%.
She pointed out that the inflation index in March rose by 12.52%, compared to December last year.
She pointed out that the inflation rate on an annual basis recorded the lowest level in the last 14 months, as it was 48.69% in January 2022.
Factory activity growth
In the context, Turkish factory activity continued to grow in March, with both new orders and production increasing despite the continued repercussions of the devastating earthquakes that hit the country in February on the sector.
According to the Istanbul Chamber of Industry and Standard & Poor’s Global, the purchasing managers’ index in the manufacturing sector rose to 50.9 last month, compared to 50.1 in February, to remain above the 50-point threshold that separates growth from contraction.
Sometimes reconstruction efforts contributed to supporting production, and the index survey, according to Archyde.com, showed that new orders returned to growth for the first time in a year and a half, with strong growth in commercial activities throughout the month and an acceleration of export orders.
The survey committee said that although production orders rose, employment fell for the first time in five months, in part because of a new early retirement law.
It added that input costs and production prices rose sharply last month, amid rising raw material costs, currency weakness and wage increases.
(Anatolia, Archyde.com, The New Arab)