Turkey’s annual inflation passes 80% after interest rate cut

ISTANBUL (AP) — The Turkish Statistical Institute says the country’s annual inflation passed 80% in August, further hitting consumers facing high energy, food and housing costs. Consumer prices rose by 80.21% from a year earlier, up 0.6 percentage points from the previous month, the agency said Monday. Independent experts say inflation is much higher than official statistics. The Inflation Research Group put the annual rate at 181%. The rise came after the central bank unexpectedly cut interest rates to 13% in August despite rising prices, a plunging lira and an unbalanced current account. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the lira’s decline have stoked inflation.