09 October 2018•Update: 09 October 2018
By Muhammed Ali Gurtas
ANKARA
Unveiling a new set of measures to fight inflation, Turkey’s treasury and finance minister vowed an "all-out war" on inflation on Tuesday.
"This program for an all-out war with inflation will further boost investor confidence," said Berat Albayrak.
Under the program, Albayrak said there will be no increases in electricity and natural gas prices through the end of the year, and the government will support businesses to prevent layoffs.
"Our banks will give a 10 percent discount to high-interest loans given after Aug. 1," he added.
"Firms taking part in the anti-inflation program will apply a minimum price discount of 10 percent through the end of this year," he explained.
Companies that try to increase profits under the current circumstances would cause greater losses in the near term, he warned.
According to the country's statistical authority, Turkey's annual inflation reached 24.52 percent in September, up from 17.90 in August.
Over the past five years, annual inflation saw its lowest level at 6.13 percent in April 2013, while the figure reached its highest level this September.
As noted in Turkey's new economy program announced last month, the country's inflation rate target is 20.8 percent this year, 15.9 percent next year, 9.8 percent in 2020, and 6.0 percent in 2021.
