Turkey's Erdogan says fiscal policy will not stoke inflation

ISTANBUL (Reuters) -Turkish fiscal policy will not add to inflationary pressure as the country begins to experience some disinflationary relief in the second half of the year, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday.

Addressing the Foreign Economic Relations Board, Erdogan said annual inflation should peak in May before cooling, echoing the forecasts of the central bank and offering his latest endorsement of the economic programme.

"We will enter a disinflationary period in the second half of the year. We will not allow for inflationary pressures through fiscal policy," he said.

The economic programme mainly aims to lower inflation to single digits, Erdogan added. "We are aiming for a sustained drop in inflation, not temporary relief."

Annual consumer price inflation was near 70% in April and is expected to touch about 75% this month. The central bank has aggressively hiked interest rates to 50% since June last year, reversing a years-long easy-money policy under Erdogan.

(Reporting by Azra Ceylan; Editing by Kirsten Donovan and Jonathan Spicer)

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