Inflation continued to fall in Turkey. According to experts, high interest rates, which have increasingly dampened demand, have slowed down appreciation. Consumer prices rose by 52% in August compared with the same month last year, the statistics department said in Ankara on Tuesday. The previous month's rise was still much higher at almost 62%. In June, the inflation rate was almost 72%. Analysts had predicted a similar drop in inflation in August.

Money depreciation in Turkey has been declining for three months but remains at high levels. In 2022, inflation was even higher. At its peak, it was then around 85%. Before that, the country had inflation at this level in the late 1990s.

The central bank is fighting inflation with high interest rates. With the approval of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the bank has raised interest rates by 41.50 percentage points to currently 50% as of June 2023. Before that, Erdogan had prevented interest rate hikes, which economists say was fuelling inflation.

The interest rate hikes are bearing fruit, experts say. The central bank expects inflation to shrink to 38% by the end of the year. However, even this will be significantly higher than the target of 5%.