Central Bank: Elevated Food Prices Deay İmprovement İn İnflation

Turkey's high food prices had negative impact on headline inflation, which is still well over the target, according to Central Bank of Turkey.

"Core inflation continues to decelerate, while elevated food inflation delays the improvement in headline CPI inflation" the Central Bank said in a presentation prepared for economists in New York.

"The slowdown in domestic demand, benign cost factors and a partial correction in food prices will support disinflation in the forthcoming period" it added.

Current account balance was expected to improve further, reflecting lagged impacts of tight macroprudential measures and the favorable terms of trade developments, it said. "Central Bank of Turkey maintains a cautious monetary policy stance to achieve the price stability objective in the medium term."

Turkish Central Bank also notedr that, the amount of foreing currency sold in the first quarter of the year rose to 7.2billon dollars, including the amount sold to public energy companies. - Istanbul