Opposition Parties Slam AKP For Economic Missteps as Inflation Surges to 20-Year High

LOCAL NEWS

• Opposition parties attributed rising inflation to mistakes in the policy rate, but also disputed the official number saying it could be as much as double the official 61.8% y/y figure.
  • “At this rate, single-digit inflation can no longer even be a dream. We are going to hyperinflation step by step,” CHP Deputy Chairman Veli Agbaba said as he called for a raise in the minimum wage. – Dunya, Cumhirriyet
• 59% of Turkish citizens cannot live on the income they earn due to inflation according to a survey by Istanbul Economic Research in March. 27% said their income was “just enough” to meet expenses. 7% said their income was above their expenses & 6% said it was more than enough.
  • 40.7% of AKP supporters reported difficulties with expenses, while 73.4% of opposition voters said their income was insufficient – Duvar
• Tourism group warns that Turkey may miss out on revenue from 10m Russian & Ukrainian tourists this summer (3m Ukraine & 7m Russian: total over 30% of total tourism worth $10bn) due to the ongoing conflict – Duvar
• Istanbul Mayor slams AKP over second downvote of the 50% tariff increase in transport fares, saying that it the party wants to create difficulties in the opposition-run region. Says it forms part of the effort to bankrupt the IETT which runs transport in the city – Duvar

Data:

• 1230BST: March Effective exchange rate, 54.78 prior