ISTANBUL - Turkish annual consumer price inflation dropped to 39.05% in February, official data showed on Monday, lower than a Reuters poll forecast and sustaining a downtrend since it peaked about 75% in May last year.

A Turkish regulation lowering patient copayments at public hospitals had prompted some analysts to trim their February inflation expectations, helping to rein in price rises.

Month-on-month, inflation was 2.27%, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute, also below forecasts. In January, inflation stood at 5.03% on a monthly basis and 42.12% annually.

Annual inflation in the key food and non-alcoholic drinks sector was lower than the headline rate, at 35.11%. Price hikes were led by a 94.9% rise in education prices, while housing prices were up 70.81%.

In a Reuters poll, monthly inflation was forecast to dip to 2.85% in February, driven by the regulatory changes reducing on copayments at public hospitals, with the annual rate seen falling to 39.90%.

The domestic producer price index rose 2.12% month-on-month in February for an annual rise of 25.21%, the data showed.

(Reporting by Canan Sevgili; Writing by Daren Butler; Editing by Huseyin Hayatsever)