- Title: Turkey lowers growth forecasts, raises inflation forecast
- Date: 4th October 2016
- Summary: ANKARA, TURKEY (OCTOBER 4, 2016) (REUTERS) TURKISH PRIME MINISTER BINALI YILDIRIM ARRIVING AT NEWS CONFERENCE / WALKING TO PODIUM JOURNALISTS AT NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (Turkish) TURKISH PRIME MINISTER, BINALI YILDIRIM, SAYING: "Turkey achieved a twofold growth rate of the world average. Is this sufficient for us? No. 3-4 percentage of growth rate is never a rate that we aim for." JOURNALISTS AT NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (Turkish) TURKISH PRIME MINISTER, BINALI YILDIRIM, SAYING: "If there isn't any unpredictable things, we'll close the season with 7.5 inflation rate. Next year our aim is lower than that. For next year our aim for inflation rate is 6.5. For the following year, it will decrease to five percent. So you see decreasing inflation rate is one of our main objectives." PHOTOGRAPHERS DURING NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (Turkish) TURKISH PRIME MINISTER, BINALI YILDIRIM, SAYING: "In 2017, we will complete the year with less than two percent fiscal deficit." MEDIA DURING NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (Turkish) TURKISH PRIME MINISTER, BINALI YILDIRIM, SAYING: "To sum up, at medium term, what will we aim for? Growth will increase, as I told you before, income per capita will increase, as well as creating new business opportunities which means creating more labour force. We should invest into finding jobs for our newly graduated youth and working age groups." JOURNALISTS AT NEWS CONFERENCE YILDIRIM LEAVING ROOM
- Embargoed: 19th October 2016 10:42
- Keywords: Turkey economy growth inflation Yildirim
- Location: ANKARA, TURKEY
- City: ANKARA, TURKEY
- Country: Turkey
- Topics: Budget/Taxation/Revenue,Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA00152LAONB
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: The Turkish economy is expected to grow 3.2 percent this year and 4.4 percent in 2017, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said on Tuesday (October 4), announcing a lowering of growth forecasts in the government's latest medium-term economic programme.
The previous programme, unveiled in January, anticipated growth of 4.5 percent this year and five percent in 2017, but the economy has since grown less than anticipated, with a failed coup in July exacerbating the slowdown.
Yildirim added economic growth would rise to five percent in 2018 and 2019 and said he hoped the programme would boost fiscal discipline and strengthen public finances.
Credit rating agencies have already lowered their outlook on Turkey since the attempted coup, with Moody's cutting its rating to "junk" status on September 24. Fitch is now the only one of the three main agencies to retain an investment grade.
The medium-term programme also forecast consumer price inflation of 7.5 percent at the end of this year and 6.5 percent in 2017, raising the forecast for next year from a previous 6.0 percent.
Yildirim said the government was determined to reduce inflation to a low and sustainable level, forecasting a level of 5 percent in 2018 and 2019. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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