Turkey’s annual inflation soared to a 20-year high of 48.69 percent in January, according to data from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK), as President Tayyip Erdogan continues with his unorthodox approach of lowering interest rates in the face of rising inflation. Consumer prices jumped 11.1 percent from the previous month, and by 48.69 percent from the same time in January last year, up from an annual rate of 36.1 percent in December, TUIK said on Thursday. Transport-related prices soared 68.9 percent year-on-year in January, while food and drinks prices jumped 55.61 percent, and furnishings and household equipment jumped 54.53 percent. The lowest annual increases were seen in communication, education, clothing and footwear, and health, TUIK said, although multiple clothing and footwear stores across Istanbul have seen prices increased by thousands of liras in recent months, despite offering customers a so-called “indirim” or sales. According to unofficial data from the independent inflation research group ENAG, Turkey’s annual consumer price inflation rate increased by 15.52 …