Turkish inflation hits lowest level since November 2021
ISTANBUL: Turkish inflation eased further in May to 35.4 percent, reaching its lowest level since November 2021, official figures showed Tuesday, paving the way for a possible interest rate cut.
Consumer price rises have now eased for 12 months in a row, after soaring to 75 percent in May last year.
Turkey's central bank (CBRT) raised its key interest rate to 46 percent in April after protests over the arrest of Istanbul's opposition mayor put pressure on the economy and caused the lira to slump against the dollar.
The move also came amid uncertainty over the effects of US President Donald Trump's tariffs.
The central bank had previously lowered rates as inflation fell.
'The larger-than-expected fall in Turkish inflation in May, to 35.4%, will increase the CBRT's confidence that it can restart its easing cycle soon,' said Nicholas Farr, emerging Europe economist at London-based Capital Economics research firm.
'While we had thought the easing cycle would resume in Q3 (the third quarter), a rate cut this month is now not out of the question,' Farr said.
The ENAG group of independent economists disputes the official inflation rate, estimating the May figure stood at 71.2 percent.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New Straits Times
19 minutes ago
- New Straits Times
Trump deploys National Guard over LA immigration protests
LOS ANGELES, United States: US President Donald Trump deployed 2,000 troops on Saturday to handle escalating protests against immigration enforcement raids in the Los Angeles area, a move the state's governor termed "purposefully inflammatory." Federal agents clashed with angry crowds in a Los Angeles suburb as protests stretched into a second night Saturday, shooting flash-bang grenades and shutting part of a motorway amid raids on undocumented migrants, reports said. The standoff took place in Paramount, where demonstrators had gathered near a Home Depot that was being used as a staging area by federal immigration officials, the Fox 11 news outlet reported. They were met by federal agents in gas masks, who lobbed flash-bang grenades and tear gas at the crowd, according to news reports and social media posts. Since taking office in January, Republican Trump has delivered on a promise to crack down hard on the entry and presence of undocumented migrants – whom he has likened to "monsters" and "animals." Late Saturday, Trump signed a memo deploying 2,000 National Guardsmen "to address the lawlessness that has been allowed to fester," White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement. "The Trump Administration has a zero tolerance policy for criminal behaviour and violence, especially when that violence is aimed at law enforcement officers trying to do their jobs." About an hour before the White House confirmed the deployment, California Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, said he opposed the move. "That move is purposefully inflammatory and will only escalate tensions," he said on social media platform X. "We are in close coordination with the city and county, and there is currently no unmet need." The protests came a day after masked and armed immigration agents carried out high-profile workplace raids in separate parts of Los Angeles, attracting angry crowds and setting off hours-long standoffs. LA Mayor Karen Bass acknowledged that some city residents were "feeling fear" following the federal immigration enforcement actions. "Everyone has the right to peacefully protest, but let me be clear: violence and destruction are unacceptable, and those responsible will be held accountable," she said on X. FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino said multiple arrests had been made following Friday's clashes. "You bring chaos, and we'll bring handcuffs. Law and order will prevail," he said on X. On Saturday, amid chants for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to get out, some protestors waved Mexican flags while others set a US flag on fire, the Los Angeles Times reported. Cement blocks and overturned shopping trolleys served as crude roadblocks. A crowd swarmed a US Marshals Service bus exiting a nearby motorway, with authorities later closing on and off ramps to keep protestors from taking over the highway and to stop new people from flowing in. The White House has taken a hard line against the protests, with deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller calling them "an insurrection against the laws and sovereignty of the United States." Los Angeles, the second-most populous city in the United States, is one of the most diverse metropolises in the country. The suburb of Paramount, home to about 50,000 people, is 82 per cent Hispanic or Latino, according to US Census data.
Malay Mail
20 minutes ago
- Malay Mail
Los Angeles protests erupt for second day amid immigration raids, flash-bang grenades used
LOS ANGELES, June 8 — Federal agents clashed with angry protestors in the Los Angeles area for a second day yesterday, shooting flash-bang grenades into the crowd and shutting part of a freeway amid raids on undocumented migrants, reports said. The standoff took place in the suburb of Paramount, where demonstrators had gathered near a Home Depot that was being used as a staging area by federal immigration officials, the Fox 11 news outlet reported. They were met by federal agents in riot gear and gas masks, who lobbed flash-bang grenades and tear gas at the crowd, according to news reports and social media posts. The immigration raids are part of US President Donald Trump's ongoing crackdown on undocumented immigrants. The Republican was elected to a second term largely on a promise to crack down hard on the entry and presence of undocumented migrants—who he likened to 'monsters' and 'animals.' Following the latest clashes in Los Angeles, authorities vowed to prosecute offenders and warned of an escalating security presence. 'We are making Los Angeles safer. Mayor (Karen) Bass should be thanking us,' Tom Homan, Trump's point man on border security, said on Fox News. 'We are going to bring the National Guard in tonight.' FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino said multiple arrests had been made following Friday's clashes. 'You bring chaos, and we'll bring handcuffs. Law and order will prevail,' he said on X. On Saturday, amid chants for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to get out, some protestors waved Mexican flags while others set a US flag on fire, the Los Angeles Times said. Cement blocks and overturned shopping carts served as crude roadblocks. A crowd swarmed a US Marshals Service bus exiting a nearby freeway, with authorities later closing on and off ramps to keep protesters from taking over the highway. The tense standoff came a day after masked and armed immigration agents carried out high-profile workplace raids in separate parts of Los Angeles, attracting angry crowds and setting off hours-long standoffs. 'An insurrection against the laws and sovereignty of the United States,' White House deputy chief of staff and anti-immigration hardliner Stephen Miller said on X, sharing a video of protesters marching Friday outside Los Angeles's federal detention center. Los Angeles, the second-most populous city in the United States, is one of the most diverse metropolises in the country. The suburb of Paramount, home to about 50,000 people, is 82 percent Hispanic or Latino, according to US Census data. — AFP
The Sun
an hour ago
- The Sun
US and China set for trade talks in London on Monday
WASHINGTON: Three of U.S. President Donald Trump's top aides will meet with their Chinese counterparts in London on Monday for talks aimed at resolving a trade dispute between the world's two largest economies that has kept global markets on edge. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer will represent the United States in the talks, Trump announced in a post on his Truth Social platform without providing further details. China's foreign ministry said on Saturday that vice premier He Lifeng will be in the United Kingdom between June 8 and June 13, adding that the first meeting of the China-U.S. economic and trade consultation mechanism would be held during this visit. 'The meeting should go very well,' Trump wrote. Trump spoke to Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday in a rare leader-to-leader call amid weeks of brewing trade tensions and a dispute over critical minerals. Trump and Xi agreed to visit one another and asked their staffs to hold talks in the meantime. Both countries are under pressure to relieve tensions, with the global economy under pressure over Chinese control over the rare earth mineral exports of which it is the dominant producer and investors more broadly anxious about Trump's wider effort to impose tariffs on goods from most U.S. trading partners. China, meanwhile, has seen its own supply of key U.S. imports like chip-design software and nuclear plant parts curtailed. The countries struck a 90-day deal on May 12 in Geneva to roll back some of the triple-digit, tit-for-tat tariffs they had placed on each other since Trump returned to the presidency in January. That preliminary deal sparked a global relief rally in stock markets, and U.S. indexes that had been in or near bear market levels have recouped the lion's share of their losses. The S&P 500 stock index, which at its lowest point in early April was down nearly 18% after Trump unveiled his sweeping 'Liberation Day' tariffs on goods from across the globe, is now only about 2% below its record high from mid-February. The final third of that rally followed the U.S.-China truce struck in Geneva. Still, that temporary deal did not address broader concerns that strain the bilateral relationship, from the illicit fentanyl trade to the status of democratically governed Taiwan and U.S. complaints about China's state-dominated, export-driven economic model. Trump has repeatedly threatened an array of punitive measures on trading partners, only to revoke some of them at the last minute. The on-again, off-again approach has baffled world leaders and spooked business executives. China sees mineral exports as a source of leverage. Halting those exports could put domestic political pressure on the Republican U.S. president if economic growth sags because companies cannot make mineral-powered products. In recent years, U.S. officials have identified China as its top geopolitical rival and the only country in the world able to challenge the United States economically and militarily.
