Turkish leader names new statistics chief as inflation rises

ISTANBUL (AP) — Turkey’s president has fired the head of the Turkish Statistical Institute, which is responsible for posting official inflation statistics, among other data. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s decision was announced Saturday. Prices in Turkey have skyrocketed amid economic turmoil with an unstable national currency, triggered by massive interest rate cuts.  Inflation on consumer goods for December was officially announced at 36.08%, up from 21.31% in November. Opposition parties, however, have questioned the independence of the statistics agency and experts say Turkey’s actual inflation is much higher than reported. Erdogan has demanded lower interest rates to fight inflation, a stance that contradicts economic theory.