Turkey’s economy grew 3.9% in the third quarter

Ankara (Reuters)

Yesterday, official data showed that Turkey’s economy grew by 3.9% year-on-year in the third quarter, slightly below expectations and slower than at the start of the year, as domestic and foreign demand was hit by high inflation and a global slowdown. .
According to the Turkish Institute of Statistics, gross domestic product fell 0.1 percent in the quarter on a seasonal and calendar-adjusted basis.
A Reuters poll projected the economy to grow at an annual rate of 4 percent in the third quarter. The survey predicts full-year growth of 5 percent, following a strong first-half result when the economy grew by more than 7.5 percent.
The data showed revised annual growth in the second quarter of 2022 from 7.6% to 7.7%.
Analysts had expected growth to slow in the second half as domestic and foreign demand weakened as a result of a slowdown in Turkey’s main trading partners.
Bucking the slowdown, Turkey’s central bank initiated an August-November easing cycle, cutting interest rates by 500 basis points to 9%.
Last year, Turkey’s economy made a strong recovery from its levels during the coronavirus pandemic and grew by 11.4%, the highest growth rate in a decade.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s economic program over the past 14 months has made growth and exports top priorities and has sought to contain inflation by reducing the chronic current account deficit rather than raising interest rates.
Last year’s policy easing cycle saw the lira end the year down 44 percent against the dollar and lose another 29 percent this year, sending inflation to a 24-year high of 85 percent in October. .