Monetary inflation

Inflation in Turkey soared to a staggering 68.5% year-on-year in March, according to data released by the Turkish Statistical Institute Turkstat. This alarming surge in prices has intensified concerns over the country's economic stability.

European Central Bank policymaker Yannis Stournaras said on Tuesday that consensus was building within the European Central Bank for a rate cut in June, if inflation develops as projected.

Türkiye's Central Bank has decided to opt for lifting the key policy rate, increasing the one-week repo auction rate from 45 percent to 50 percent.

Most economists had expected the Central Bank, which held the policy rate steady last month after eight straight increases, to keep the rate unchanged at the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting on March 21.

The fight against inflation remains the government's priority, Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz has reiterated, voicing optimism that inflation will gradually come down as predicted in the medium-term program.

The European Central Bank is set to keep interest rates at record highs on Thursday and take baby steps towards cutting them in the coming months as inflation continues to fall despite stubbornly high underlying price pressures.

Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek has reiterated his "full support" for the country's Central Bank, as the bank announced additional monetary tightening measures to fight inflation.

BELGRADE - National Bank of Serbia (NBS) Governor Jorgovanka Tabakovic said on Wednesday a strong trend of declining inflation was continuing this year and that y-o-y Serbian inflation in January had dropped to 6.4 pct.

Turkey's annual inflation rate climbed to 67.07% in February, exceeding expectations and keeping up pressure for tight monetary policy amid strong rises in food, hotel and education prices, official data showed on Monday.

The current economic policies will continue to be implemented after the upcoming elections, Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek has said.

Türkiye will hold local elections on March 31.

As widely expected, Türkiye's Central Bank kept its policy rate unchanged at 45 percent after eight straight months of rate hikes.