By Joshua Kirby
Turkish consumer price inflation rose slightly at the start of the year, laying out the continued challenge for a central bank reeling from its governor's resignation after barely eight months at the helm.
The country's consumer-price index increased by 64.86% in January on year, edging up from 64.77% in December, figures published Monday by statistics agency Turkstat showed. This was in line with economists' expectations, according to a consensus compiled by FactSet, and marks a slower increase than that booked a month earlier.
Core prices excluding energy, food, drinks, tobacco and gold increased by 70.48%, a marginally slower increase than a month earlier. The services sector, including hospitality, education, health and transportation, continued to drive overall price rises in January, while housing and clothing remained the categories booking the shallowest increases.
Turkey's central bank has been battling to rein in rampant price inflation and has seen some progress in recent months following a series of interest-rate increases. But the bank governor appointed in June, Hafize Gaye Erkan, resigned over the weekend, citing negative media reports--a move that could raise concerns over the bank's policy ahead.
The central bank will now be led by Fatih Karahan, a former deputy governor and a former economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
Write to Joshua Kirby at joshua.kirby@wsj.com; @joshualeokirby
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forecast 64.9
previous 64.77
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
02-05-24 0233ET
