Turkish consumers' patience wears thin as inflation peaks at 75 pct

STORY: Turkish consumers' patience wears thin as inflation rate peaks at 75 pct SHOOTING TIME: June 3, 2024 DATELINE: June 4, 2024 LENGTH: 00:03:37 LOCATION: Ankara CATEGORY: ECONOMY SHOTLIST: 1. various of Ankara 2. SOUNDBITE 1 (Turkish): SUAT ENGIN, Pensioner 3. various of Ankara 4. SOUNDBITE 2 (Turkish): NILGUN OZMEN, Pensioner 5. various of Ankara 6. SOUNDBITE 3 (Turkish): SELMA SONGUN, Housewife STORYLINE: With Türkiye's annualized inflation rate exceeding 75 percent in May, Turkish consumers are in desperate need of the relief promised by the government's disinflation efforts. Türkiye's inflation rate rose in May to 75.45 percent, official data revealed on Monday. That's the highest point since November 2022, and a significant jump from April's rate of 69.8 percent. "The worst is over," Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek said on X after Monday's data release. The minister sought to reassure the public that relief is in sight. "We saw the highest level of annual inflation, which refl