Turkey saw a 16.65 percent annual hike in consumer prices last month compared to 15.72 percent in June, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) reported this week.
On a monthly basis, the consumer prices went up 1.36 percent in July, it said.
Turkey’s central bank sharply cut its key interest rate by a more than expected 425 basis points to 19.75 percent end of July to spur a recession-hit economy, its first step away from the emergency stance it adopted during last year’s currency crisis.
The bank lowered its benchmark one-week repo rate from 24 percent, where it had remained since September, when a collapse in the Turkish lira pushed inflation to a 15-year high above 25 percent, prompting aggressive rate hikes.
The lira was volatile earlier this year after weakening by nearly 30 percent against the dollar in 2018. It has steadied in recent weeks, even though Turkey faces the threat of US sanctions over its purchase of Russian missile systems.
Meanwhile, Turkish Trade Ruhsar Pekcan said that she has held a fruitful phone conversation with her US counterpart, Wilbur Ross.
A US delegation led by the commerce secretary will visit Turkey in September, she said.
