Official data released on Wednesday showed that Turkey’s annual consumer price inflation fell below expectations to 32.95 percent in August.

The Turkish Statistical Institute reported that inflation rose 2.04 percent on a monthly basis, higher than expected. In July, consumer price inflation was 2.06 percent monthly and 33.52 percent annually.

A Reuters poll had forecast monthly inflation at 1.8 percent for August and annual inflation at 32.6 percent.

The data also showed that the domestic producer price index increased by 2.48 percent monthly in August, pushing the annual rate to 25.16 percent.

The Central Bank of Turkey began a monetary easing cycle last December after keeping the main interest rate steady for eight months, with inflation then peaking at 75 percent last year.

In April, the bank tightened its monetary policy to ensure stability following market turmoil caused by the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, a political rival to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

Recently, the bank returned to an easing policy last month as inflation declined to around 33 percent, indicating that the effects of the previous tightening were evident in slowing demand.