TUIK reports 39,59 % inflation in May, ENAG reports 109.01%

Turkey’s inflation in May dipped below 40% for the first time since late 2021, according to Turkish Statistical Instituton (TUIK) helped by the institution’s decision to exclude household-gas consumption in its calculations last month.

TUIK earlier announced that it would record gas prices as zero in May, following President Tayyip Erdogan’s giveaway of the power source to households for the month before May’s elections.

According to data released by TUIK, inflation in May increased by 0.04% compared to the previous month, 15.26% compared to December of the previous year and 39.59% compared to the same month of the previous year.

However, ENAG (Inflation Research Group), a group composed of independent academics and economists, announced the inflation rate for May as 7.35% in May, with an annual increase of 109.01%.

TUIK said the housing expenses, reflecting the price of natural gas, decreased by 13.79% in May, in the main expenditure groups.

On an annual basis, the group that showed the lowest increase compared to the same month of the previous year was clothing and footwear, with a rate of 19.49%. On the other hand, the group with the highest increase compared to the same month of the previous year was restaurants and hotels, with a rate of 68.98%.

Out of the 143 items in the basket, the prices of 110 items increased, while 25 items saw a decrease in the index, and there was no change for 8 items.