Slight increase in annual inflation

The annual rate of inflation rose slightly last month, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) said Friday. Official TurkStat figures showed inflation increased to 6.58 percent in May from 6.57 percent in April, an increase of 0.58 percent.

Meanwhile, Finance Minister Naci Ağbal said inflation in the country had decreased in the first five months of this year. At a press conference in Ankara on Friday, Ağbal said: "The decline in inflation is good news. A rapid decrease in food prices reduced headline inflation from 9.5 percent to 6.5 percent." He said recent data showed promise for growth in the Turkish economy. "There are favorable conditions for a 4.5 percent growth in 2016. Positive figures are coming in succession," he added.

The prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages fell 1.64 percent, the biggest decrease, while the clothing and footwear sector saw the highest monthly increase with a 8.04 percent rise.

The greatest annual increase was in the price of alcohol and tobacco products, which rose 12.79 percent.

Ağbal warned, however, that there were still challenges in reducing the core inflation, a measure which excludes energy and food prices, despite improvement in headline numbers.

"Base effects also contribute to the inflation developments achieved in the first five months. We need to create conditions that will help reduce core inflation," Ağbal said.