by Burak Akinci

ANKARA, April 3 (Xinhua) -- Bread, a daily staple for millions of Turks, has grown more expensive, underscoring how regional instability and surging energy costs are squeezing household budgets across the country.

Earlier this week, the price of a standard loaf rose to 17.5 Turkish liras (about 0.4 U.S. dollars) from 15 liras, an increase of roughly 17 percent. For families that consume bread in large quantities each day, the math adds up quickly.

"Bread is the most important item on the table," said Osman Atak, who owns a bakery in central Ankara, as customers filed in for fresh loaves.

The increase comes amid broader economic pressures tied to energy costs and regional instability, particularly the ongoing American and Israeli strikes on Iran. Atak said the connection was direct.

"This fresh increase is mainly linked to the Middle East crisis," he said. "The sharp rise in energy prices -- gasoline, diesel -- has pushed up our costs, and we have no choice but to raise prices."

Bakeries across Trkiye depend heavily on electricity and natural gas to run their ovens around the clock. Fluctuations in energy costs translate swiftly into higher production expenses, which local bakery associations and municipal authorities have increasingly passed on to consumers in recent years.

Even so, Atak said the latest jump arrived sooner and hit harder than many bakers had expected. Bread occupies a singular place in Turkish life, reflected in the phrase "ekmek parasi" which means "bread money," a colloquial term for the basic earnings needed to get by. Larger households, he said, would feel the burden most acutely.

"Some families buy five or six loaves a day," Atak said. "They will suffer the most."

For many Turks, bread is not merely an accompaniment to a meal but a primary source of calories. When meat, vegetables, or dairy grow unaffordable, families rely on bread to fill the gap.

Outside the bakery, Bilal Ak, a retired scholar who had just purchased a sourdough loaf, was not hiding his frustration. He said the loaf that once cost him 95 liras had just rung up at 120.

"My income hasn't changed, but prices keep rising," Ak said. "The war is a very bad business."

Economists caution that even modest shifts in bread prices can carry outsized consequences in a country where per-capita consumption ranks among the world's highest. Mustafa Sonmez, an Istanbul-based economist, said the increase from 15 to 17.5 liras may appear small in isolation, but the effect compounds for households buying multiple loaves each day.

"When a family buys four or five loaves daily, the monthly cost rises noticeably," Sonmez said.

Trkiye's broader economic strains add to the pressure. Inflation is around 30 percent, and the minimum wage is about 28,000 liras (around 627 dollars) a month, leaving low-income families especially vulnerable to even small price increases.

"The rise in energy prices affects practically all goods," another customer at Atak's bakery said. "Every price increase inevitably hurts both producers and consumers."