Finance Minister Nureddin Nebati said on Saturday inflation in Turkey will come down to single digits by the time of presidential and parliamentary elections set for mid-2023, after it soared to a 19-year high of 36 percent in December.

Speaking to heads of non-governmental organizations in Istanbul, Nebati also said the conversion of forex holdings to Turkish lira will accelerate in coming weeks.

He added that as of Friday night more than 131 billion lira ($9.69 billion) had been deposited in accounts under a government scheme that protects lira deposits from forex depreciation.