Treasury and Finance Minister Lütfi Elvan said Tuesday Turkey was not “at the level we desire” on the inflation front.
“On the inflation front, unfortunately, we aren’t at the level we desire. It is important that each institution performs its part within the scope of its field of duty,” Elvan told the Turkish Capital Markets Congress in Istanbul.
Turkey’s annual inflation rate rose to 19.89% year-on-year in October, according to official data, driven by food, services, housing and transportation prices, reflecting in part soaring world energy prices.
The country’s central bank last month raised its year-end inflation forecast to 18.4% from 14.1%, in an upgrade driven by higher import costs and food prices.
Strong public finance will continue to be an important pillar of macroeconomic stability in Turkey, Elvan said.
“The careful and selective public finance policies we implemented during the pandemic have positively differentiated the Turkish economy compared to developed and developing countries,” he noted.
Public finance balances in many countries have also been severely harmed amid the pandemic, explained the minister and added that in such a difficult period, Turkey’s economy performed well in production, investment, growth and employment indicators.
