Turkey's annual inflation rate was at 78.62% in June, the country's statistical authority said on Monday.

The consumer price index saw a 4.95% rise on a monthly basis, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat).

This marks the highest reading since September 1998, when annual inflation was 80.4%.

An Anadolu Agency (AA) survey predicted that the consumer price index would rise 4.44% in June, while the economists surveyed forecast annual inflation would climb to 77.74%.

It was expected to reach 80%, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of 17 economists.

The median estimate of 12 economists who participated in the Reuters poll for annual inflation in June was 78.35%, with forecasts ranging between 72.30% and 81.80%.

The lowest annual increase was in the communication sector with 23.74%.

It was followed by the clothing and footwear sector with 26.99%, education with 27.76% and health with 39.34%.

The largest annual rises were seen in transportation with 123.37%, food and non-alcoholic beverages with 93.93%, and furnishings and household equipment with 81.14%.

Inflation has surged since last autumn when the lira slumped after the central bank gradually cut its policy rate by 500 basis points to 14%.

It has been further stoked this year by the economic fallout from Russia's invasion of Ukraine, as well as the lira's continued decline. The currency shed 44% against the dollar last year and was down 24% this year before recovering some losses in recent days.

Annual inflation the month before jumped to a 24-year high of 73.5%.

Despite the latest rise, the data shows it has started the process of slightly slowing down.

Inflation was seen falling only to 69.50% by the end of the year, according to the median estimate of 18 economists, with forecasts between 60.33% and 120%.

The median for the year-end stood at 63.5% in the previous Reuters poll conducted in May.

The government has said inflation will fall with the new economic program, which prioritizes low rates to boost production and exports and aims to achieve a current account surplus.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said earlier that he expects inflation to come down to "appropriate" levels by February-March next year, while the central bank said it would drop to 42.8% by 2022-end.

Erdoğan said the government was working on ways to alleviate households’ economic woes and combat soaring prices.

Last week, the president announced that the government decided to raise the minimum wage in the country by 30%.

Effective on July 1, the new minimum wage has been set as TL 5,500 (around $330) per month. The increase follows a 50% hike as of January, which had lifted the minimum wage to TL 4,250.

"Inflation is a problem not only of Turkey, but of the whole world," Erdoğan said, stressing the government's determination to prioritize and address challenges households are facing.