STORY: Türkiye's hiking inflation may ease in mid-2024: Turkish economist 
SHOOTING TIME: Dec. 28, 2023
DATELINE: Dec. 29, 2023
LENGTH: 0:02:48
LOCATION: Ankara
CATEGORY: ECONOMY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of people on the streets and shopping in Türkiye
2. various of Turkish Central Bank 
3. various of Turkish lira 
4. SOUNDBITE (Turkish): ARDA TUNCA, Istanbul-Based Economist And Columnist

STORYLINE:

Türkiye has been struggling with economic woes due to high inflation, sharp depreciation of the currency and rising borrowing costs.

Arda Tunca, an Istanbul-based economist and columnist, told Xinhua in a recent interview, that the effect of the Turkish government's monetary-tightening measures to curb inflation is likely to be felt starting mid-2024.

SOUNDBITE (Turkish): ARDA TUNCA, Istanbul-Based Economist And Columnist
"The monetary tightening that we witnessed since June has prepared the base of what is coming next. This was a preparatory period.
From now on, we can expect the effect of these measures on inflation.
If there are no divergences from the current policies, we can expect inflation to drop to around 40 percent after May in 2024.
And then we have to see how the central bank will react because there might be resistance to drop below 40 percent.
Despite the many vulnerabilities and turmoil that we witnessed in the past decades, Türkiye is still standing economically because of a very flexible society and a resilient private sector. This would have been inconceivable in a Scandinavian nation.
Türkiye needs to implement structural reforms that would also be effective against high inflation. There are great inequalities in revenues in Türkiye. A tax reform is also needed to alleviate the burden of indirect taxes on consumers." 

In November, consumer prices in Türkiye rose slightly to 61.9 percent year-on-year after a 61.3-percent annual increase in October. The increase was largely fuelled by the depreciation of the Turkish lira.
   
The Turkish central bank expects inflation rate to peak at 70-75 percent in May, before dipping to about 36 percent by the end of 2024.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Ankara.
(XHTV)