ISTANBUL, April 3 (Xinhua) -- Turkey's annual inflation climbed to 11.86 percent in March, mainly driven by growing prices in alcoholic beverages and tobaccos, according to data released on Friday.
On a monthly basis, inflation increased by 0.57 percent in March, according to the figures unveiled by the Turkish Statistical Institute.
The highest price rise in March was recorded in alcoholic beverages and tobaccos, surging 40.19 percent year-on-year, and the lowest one was observed in communication with a 2.52 percent increase.
Turkey's economic indicators have seen stronger signals of recovery before the outbreak of COVID-19 in February.
But last month the government had to announce a series of economic support measures to prevent multiple sectors from collapsing due to the severe shrinking in demand in the market caused by the coronavirus.
The latest developments have forced economists to lower their expectations about the country's economic indicators.
Turkish authorities have lately restricted domestic travel across the country, urging people to stay at home unless necessary to curb the pandemic.
The death toll from the virus outbreak increased to 356 on Thursday and the number of confirmed cases to 18,135, according to the Health Ministry.
