Consumer prices rose by an average of 68.5 percent compared to the same month last year. In February, the inflation rate was still around 67.1 percent.
From February to March alone, goods and services rose in price by almost 3.2 percent. The sharp rise in the cost of living is seen as one reason for the defeat of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's AKP in local elections. The opposition was able to prevail in numerous major cities – including Istanbul. The Turkish central bank has recently surprisingly tightened its monetary policy in view of the stubbornly high inflation.