The Turkish lira fell and renewed to a minimum: its value fell to 15 lira per dollar after Turkey’s inflation rate became known in April, reaching an unprecedented 69.97%, reaching a two-decade high. As a result, on Monday, the Turkish currency traded at 15.0421 per dollar, the newspaper Ahval. Since mid-March, the Turkish currency has been valued at between $ 14.5 and $ 14.9 per dollar.
“Financial institutions have sold tens of billions of dollars for lira since December, when the currency crisis peaked and threatened to undermine economic stability. I think we are again seeing strong intervention to protect level 15 – idiocy given the wider strength of the dollar. It is a waste of reserves that Turkey does not have, ”said Tim Ash, a senior strategist in emerging markets at BlueBay Asset Management in London.
Experts also note that the lira lost 44 percent of its value in 2021, which helped push inflation to its fastest pace since the banking crisis in the early 2000s. This year’s losses are over 10%. Inflation in Turkey will remain at 65 to 75% until December – they also say.
Opposition groups say nearly three-quarters of Turks do not believe in official inflation data. “Last year, Turks bought dollars and euros en masse. And now everything is rapidly becoming more expensive. According to some independent estimates of prices in Turkey, the annual changes exceed 100%,” they say.
Indeed, everything is rapidly becoming more expensive in Turkey. “In Turkey, everything is growing: the number of tourists, and inflation, and prices, and the percentage of those willing to leave,” – this observation was published in the blog of the expat. Thus, compared to last year’s prices, the value increased in all spheres of life: housing (61.14%), catering and hotels (69.26%), household items (77.64%), food and non-alcoholic beverages (89.1%), transport (105.86%).
Moreover, according to experts, the current increase will not stop in the near future. Prices for “milk” and bread are expected to increase by 33%. The reason is rising raw material prices. The cost of mobile communication is increasing. “I can say at my personal rate from the operator Turkcell – a package of 12 GB of Internet (plus minutes and SMS) last month cost 55 lira (105 hryvnia), and tomorrow I will pay for it 70 lira (140 hryvnia),” – said the author.
“In Turkey, the one-month hunger and one-month poverty line has been recalculated for a family of four: a mother, a father and two children. The hunger rate is set at only 5,323 lire, ie 11 hryvnias (balanced healthy diet), and the poverty rate is 17,340 lire, ie 35 hryvnias, the total cost of food and clothing, housing, transport, education, health care and other essentials)”, – said the expat.
According to official data, the percentage of young people wishing to leave Turkey has increased from 28% to 48% in the last 12 years. The growth was 71.4%. “And if you take the statistics on the population as a whole, then more than 35% would like to migrate abroad if they had the opportunity. Previously, the reason for this desire was the presence of a perspective offered by other countries. And now people want to leave the dead end of life in Turkey, “said the blogger.
Educated people and professionals are fleeing Turkey. “They are fleeing from the feeling of hopelessness, restriction of freedoms. Many people do not see themselves in the future of Turkey, do not see opportunities to realize their skills, needs and hopes,” – said the blogger.