The Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) announced the inflation figures for February. Inflation came in below expectations in February at 2.27% on a monthly basis. The annual inflation rate fell to 39.05%. Economists had predicted a monthly inflation rate of around 3% and expected the annual inflation to decrease to 40%. The 12-month inflation index which determines the rent increase ceiling was recorded at 53.83%. In January, the monthly inflation had increased by 4.53%, while the annual inflation had dropped to 42.12%. How Did the Leading Indicators Perform? According to the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce (İTO) data, retail prices had risen by 3.19% in Istanbul in February, with an annual increase of 45.35%. Kitchen inflation, as reported by Turk-İş, had shown an increase of 5.39% in February. Eyes Turned to Interest Rate Decision Following the inflation data, attention has shifted to the Central Bank’s interest rate decision. The Monetary Policy Committee will meet on Thursday to discuss the policy rate. Economists are expecting a 250 basis points cut in the policy rate, bringing it down to 42.5%. Year-end policy rate expectations have settled around the 30% mark. In January, the CBRT had reduced the interest rate by 250 basis points, lowering it to 45%.