* CPI up 8.19 percent year-on-year
* Data supports expectations of rate hikes in late 2010
* Bonds, lira firm
(Adds details, markets, background)
By Selcuk Gokoluk
ANKARA, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Turkey's consumer prices rose 1.85 percent month-on-month in January, according to data released on Wednesday, in line with forecasts and reinforcing expectations that interest rates will rise later this year.
Bonds and the lira firmed as investors welcomed the Turkish Statistics Institute's report, which supported predictions of recovery this year after an economic contraction estimated at around 6 percent in 2009.
A Reuters poll of 15 economists had forecast the consumer price index (CPI) would rise 1.80 percent.
Year-on-year consumer prices rose 8.19 percent, well above the official inflation target for 2010 at 6.5 percent.
The producer price index rose 0.58 percent month-on-month in January, less than a forecast rise of 0.85 percent, for an annual rise of 6.30 percent.
Economists had feared a steeper spike in January inflation, as the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce said on Monday that retail prices in Turkey's largest city jumped 2.59 percent month-on-month in January.
"Inflation data is not as high as we feared. It is close to the market expectations, but everyone was afraid it could top 2 percent after Istanbul inflation data was announced," said Garanti Bank chief economist Pelin Yenigun Dilek.
TAX, FOOD PRICE HIKES
Economists said the Central Bank had already flagged the rise in inflation in January when it said tax hikes would add 1.5 points to the CPI reading this month, and their expectations of interest rate rises later this year were unaltered.
The Central Bank said tax hikes and rising food prices would push up inflation in early 2010, but not enough to spoil an underlying trend lower over the medium term.
"The overall January data should hold no surprises for the Central Bank," Finansbank chief economist Inan Demir said.
"This will not affect expectations of policy rates rising later in the year."
Tax hikes and higher food prices were the main drivers of inflation, and the central bank had forecast that inflation would show a marked rise in January and February.
In December, the CPI rose a higher-than-expected 0.53 percent and the central bank subsequently left key rates at record lows, after a 13-month cycle of rate cuts that reduced rates by 10.25 percentage points.
After the data, the yield on Turkey's benchmark Nov. 16, 2011, bond fell to 8.92 percent from 9.06 beforehand. The lira firmed to 1.4790 against the dollar from 1.4830 before the release of the data.
"Inflation had an impact but it's not bad news. It's a sign of growth," said Emre Balkeser, trader at Finans Invest.
Weak domestic demand and lower commodity prices results in inflation fo 6.53 percent in 2009, undershooting the central bank's target of 7.5 percent. (Writing by Daren Butler, editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)