A vegetable vendor waits for customers at her stall in a women-led street market in Diyarbakir, Turkey December 22, 2021. Picture taken December 22, 2021. REUTERS/Sertac Kayar

ANKARA (Reuters) -Turkish inflation eased to 32.87% annually and to 2.55% monthly in October, both below expectations, according to official data on Monday that could reinforce the central bank's decision to slow but not stop its rate-cutting cycle.

A Reuters poll had forecast annual inflation of 33.24% and a monthly rise of 2.83%.

Consumer price inflation (CPI) in the heavily weighted food group came in at 34.9% annually and 3.4% monthly, Turkish Statistics Institute data showed.

Driving some of the price pressure, housing inflation topped 50% on an annual basis while clothing topped 12% on a monthly basis.

In September the annual rate was 33.3% and the monthly rate was 3.2%, marking the second month in a row that CPI was higher than expected. That prompted the central bank to slow its interest rate easing cycle with a 100-point cut last month to 39.5%.

Some analysts had expected the central bank to halt its easing, especially if October inflation was higher than expected.

Minutes published on Friday showed the bank warning that risks to disinflation, particularly from food prices, had become more pronounced and that inflation expectations picked up in October, even as the pace of food price increases slowed.

Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek said on Friday that it appears difficult to hit the 25-29% forecast range for inflation at the end of this year but added that disinflation would continue strongly in 2026.

Producer prices rose 1.63% month on month in October for an annual increase of 27%, the data showed.

(Reporting by Ece ToksabayEditing by Jonathan Spicer and David Goodman)