Prices in Turkey are rising at their fastest rate in 24 years, according to the latest official figures. The annual rate of inflation, the pace at which prices rise, hit 78.62% in June, which was slightly higher than expectations. Transport costs and housing saw some of the sharpest price rises, worsened by the Ukraine war. Inflation has surged since last year, when the Turkish president cut interest rates to try to boost the economy. Usually countries would increase interest rates in an attempt to cool inflation. But President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has described interest rates as “the mother and father of all evil”, and has used more unorthodox policy to try to dampen prices including intervening in foreign exchange markets. Last year’s cut in interest rates from 19% to 14% has led to a fall in the value of the Turkish lira, which means it costs more for the country to import goods from abroad.(BBC)…[+]