ANKARA, April 3 (Xinhua) -- Türkiye's annual inflation rate decreased for the 10th consecutive month in March, easing to 38.1 percent down from February's 39.1 percent, the lowest level since December 2021, official data showed on Thursday.

According to the data, the consumer price index (CPI) increased by 2.46 percent in March, following a 2.27 percent rise in February. Producer prices also saw an uptick, rising by 1.88 percent month-on-month. The annual increase in producer prices reached 23.50 percent.

In March, the highest annual increase was observed in the education sector, with prices soaring by 80.42 percent. This was followed by the housing sector, which saw a 68.63 percent rise, and the alcoholic beverages and tobacco group, which experienced a 46.74 percent increase.

"We expect the impact of recent market fluctuations on inflation to be limited by tightening financial conditions. We will continue to use all our policy tools with strong coordination in line with our price stability goal," Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek said Thursday on the social media platform X.

When elaborating on the March rate, Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz said on X that the disinflation process began in June last year and continued its effect in March, marking 10 uninterrupted months.

"Consumer inflation fell to an annual rate of 38.1 percent in March, marking a 37.4-point decline since June 2024, when disinflation began," he added.

Türkiye has been grappling with rising inflation for years. In January, the Turkish central bank raised its year-end inflation forecast for 2025 to 24 percent, up 3 percentage points from the previous forecast. Enditem