By Joshua Kirby
The inflation rate in Turkey continued to pick up pace in August, furthering the scale of the challenge facing policymakers looking to tackle rampant price rises.
The consumer price index increased by 58.9% in August compared with the same month a year earlier, picking up pace from 47.8% in July, data from the country's statistics office Turkstat showed Monday.
Inflation had been forecast to rise to 56.1%, according to a poll of economists compiled by FactSet.
On the month, the CPI rose 9.1%, the data showed.
Food inflation remained among the primary drivers of higher prices, rising 72.9% in August. Prices at hotels, cafes and restaurants rose even faster, by just under 90% on year, Turkstat said.
By contrast, housing and clothing rose less quickly than other areas, at 25% and 31.1%, respectively.
Continued rapid prices rises might mean further increases in Turkey's interest rates. The country's central bank last month hiked rates to 25%, a larger-than-expected increase that signalled a more aggressive monetary policy in the world's 19th-largest economy.
Write to Joshua Kirby at joshua.kirby@wsj.com; @joshualeokirby
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
09-04-23 0327ET
