Turkey’s textile manufacturing industry may feel the impact as the government recently raised the price of natural gas supplied to the industry and power plants by 48 per cent and 47 per cent respectively, as a global price spike drove up import bills.
Consumer gas prices remain unchanged, the state-controlled BOTAS Petroleum Pipeline Corporation announced.
Inflation, which rose to 19.58 per cent in September—the highest since March 2019—may rise because of the decision, according to a newspaper report from Turkey.
Natural gas prices have by soared by around 280 per cent in Europe this year and by more than 100 per cent in the United States, pushing up winter fuel bills.
BOTAS, however, said in a statement that the high prices seen around the world were not reflected in the same proportion in Turkey. “All subscriber groups have been maximally protected,” the company said.
One of the largest gas importers in Europe, Turkey depends on pipeline gas from Russia, Azerbaijan and Iran as well as liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports from Nigeria, Algeria and spot markets.
The country’s purchasing managers index (PMI) for the manufacturing sector was 51.2 in October, down from 52.5 in September, according to fresh figures. The slip reportedly is a sign of a recent slowdown in the manufacturing sector due to problems in supply chains, limited demand and production, according to a report by the Istanbul Chamber of Industry and data firm IHS Markit.
