ANKARA, July 3 (Xinhua) -- Turkey's consumer price hit 15. 39 percent in June compared to the same month last year, Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) revealed on Tuesday.

TurkStat said that food and non-alcoholic beverages saw the highest monthly increase in June at 5.98 percent. The highest annual increase in the month was seen in transportation with 24.26 percent.

The consumer price saw a monthly change of 2.61 percent in June and a rise from 1.62 percent in May.

The parity of U.S. dollar and Turkish lira rose sharply after the data was released, rising from 4.6225 to 4.69.

Local economists said that the inflation rate in June has recorded the highest number since 2003, expecting to hit new peak in the upcoming months.

Inanc Sozer, Executive Director of Turkey's Macro View Consulting said inflation has worsened due to weaker Turkish lira, and prices of commodity and food are higher than expected.

"If lira isn't stabilized in July, we could see that inflation rate will accelerate in the coming period," he noted.