STORY: Türkiye raises year-end inflation forecast amid soaring prices
SHOOTING TIME: May 9, 2024 & Earlier footage
DATELINE: May 10, 2024
LENGTH: 00:01:19
LOCATION: Ankara
CATEGORY: ECONOMY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of Turkish Central Bank (earlier footage)
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (Turkish): FATIH KARAHAN, Turkish Central Bank Governor (courtesy of ihlas news agency)
3. various of Turkish lira (earlier footage)
4. SOUNDBITE 2 (Turkish): FATIH KARAHAN, Turkish Central Bank Governor (courtesy of ihlas news agency)
5. various of Turkish lira (earlier footage)
6. various of Turkish Central Bank (earlier footage)

STORYLINE:   

Türkiye's Central Bank has raised its end-of-year inflation forecast for 2024 to 38 percent, a two-percentage-point increase from previous estimates, as revealed in its latest quarterly report.

The bank's outlook for the subsequent years remains unchanged, with inflation expected to decrease to 14 percent in 2025 and 9 percent in 2026, aiming for a medium-term stabilization target of 5 percent.

Central Bank Governor Fatih Karahan acknowledged the higher-than-expected inflation rates, anticipating a 75 to 76 percent peak in May.

SOUNDBITE 1 (Turkish): FATIH KARAHAN, Turkish Central Bank Governor 
"We are determined to maintain our tight monetary policy stance until inflation falls to levels consistent with our target."

Türkiye's annual consumer price inflation neared 70 percent last month, marking the highest level since 2022, driven by a 3.2 percent monthly increase due to rising service and food prices.

SOUNDBITE 2 (Turkish): FATIH KARAHAN, Turkish Central Bank Governor
"However, we see that inflation has been even higher than our projections for the last three months. In fact, consumer inflation ended April at 69.8 percent, which was 0.9 points above the previous inflation report forecast range."

Türkiye has implemented a series of aggressive rate hikes and fiscal measures since mid-2023 to temper inflation. However, years of loose monetary policy have weakened the lira, contributing to one of the world's highest inflation rates and a significant cost-of-living burden for most households in the import-dependent country.

The lira has lost significant value since a 2018 currency crisis and remains down over 9 percent year-to-date against the U.S. dollar despite some stability in recent months.

In a positive development, S&P upgraded Türkiye's long-term sovereign rating from B to B+ with a positive outlook on May 3.

Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek views this as a testament to the success of the disinflation program he leads, expressing confidence that other rating agencies will follow suit and upgrade Türkiye's rating.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Ankara.
(XHTV)