ANKARA: Turkey’s annual consumer inflation slowed to 30.87% in March from 31.53% in February, while monthly inflation eased to 1.94% from 2.96%, official data showed on Friday. The reading also came in below market expectations for annual inflation of 31.4% and monthly inflation of 2.32%. The figures pointed to a renewed slowdown in price growth after a firmer start to the year, but they also showed that consumer prices were still rising at a pace that continues to weigh heavily on household budgets.
The March data from the Turkish Statistical Institute indicated that prices were up 10.04% from the end of 2025 and 32.50% on a 12 month average basis. That left the latest release open to two simultaneous readings. Inflation slowed in directional terms, which made the result relatively better than February and better than forecasts. But the level of inflation remained high in absolute terms, meaning the latest improvement did not amount to low inflation or relief from the broader cost of living strain still facing consumers across the economy.
Price increases remained concentrated in the categories that matter most to households. Annual inflation was 32.36% for food and non alcoholic beverages, 34.35% for transportation, and 42.06% for housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels. On a monthly basis, transportation rose 4.52%, food increased 1.80%, and housing advanced 1.91%. Those readings suggested that while headline inflation slowed, essential spending categories continued to post sizable gains, keeping underlying pressure visible in the parts of the consumer basket that shape day to day living costs most directly.
Disinflation Continues But Price Pressures Stay High
The broader inflation picture also remained elevated beyond consumer prices alone. Domestic producer prices rose 2.30% in March from the previous month and were up 28.08% from a year earlier, indicating that cost pressure within the production chain had not disappeared. Official data also showed that price increases were still widespread across the basket, with most spending subclasses recording gains during the month. That pattern supported the view that March represented continued disinflation, defined by slower inflation, rather than a return to price stability or a meaningful easing in overall inflationary conditions.
The inflation release came after Turkey’s central bank left its benchmark one week repo rate unchanged at 37% in March, pausing an easing cycle that had brought rates down earlier in the year. In its February inflation report, the bank kept its year end inflation target at 16% while widening its forecast range to 15% to 21%. The March consumer price figures therefore offered evidence that the official disinflation trend remained intact, but they did not materially alter the fact that inflation was still running at levels far above the central bank’s target.
Official Data Faces Independent Challenge
An important caveat to the official narrative came from the independent Inflation Research Group, known as ENAG, which put annual inflation in March at 54.62%, up from 54.14% in February, with monthly inflation at 4.10%. That meant the gap between the state statistics agency and an independent inflation gauge remained wide not only in scale but also in direction, with the official series showing slower annual inflation and ENAG showing a further increase. The divergence has remained a persistent feature of Turkey’s inflation debate and adds another layer of scrutiny to each monthly release.
Taken together, the March figures supported a headline of softer inflation but not one of low inflation. Prices were still rising rapidly, only at a slower pace than in February and at a slower pace than economists had expected. That distinction made the latest report a positive development in relative terms without changing the harsher reality of still elevated living costs. For policymakers, businesses and households, the March release signaled continuing disinflation rather than a full improvement in price conditions across the Turkish economy – By Content Syndication Services.