Turkey’s inflation hits 61% climbing to new 20-year high

ISTANBUL (AP) — Yearly inflation in Turkey has hit 61.14%, climbing to a new 20-year high and deepening a cost of living crisis for many households. The Turkish Statistical Institute said Monday consumer prices rose by 5.46% in March compared with the previous month. The highest yearly price increase was in the transportation sector, at 99.12%, while the increase in food prices was 70.33%. Rising prices are part of an economic crisis exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and more recently by a surge in gas, oil and grain prices following the invasion of Ukraine. They also also follow a series of interest rate cuts late last year, in line with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s opposition to high borrowing costs.