Turkey’s economy expanded by a less-than-expected 2.5 percent in the second quarter of the year, data showed on Monday, cooling in the face of a year-long monetary tightening drive, Reuters reported.
The second-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) grew 0.1 percent from the previous quarter on a seasonally and calendar-adjusted basis, according to Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) data.
In a Reuters poll, the economy was forecast to have expanded 3.2 percent in the second quarter, with growth of 3.35 percent in 2024 as a whole.
There was growth of 6.5 percent in construction, 3.7 percent in real estate activities and agriculture, forestry and fishing, 3.4 percent in information and communication, with the value added increasing by 7.4 percent in other service activities, TurkStat said.
Growth was revised down to 5.3 percent from 5.7 percent in the first quarter, when strong domestic demand was pushed up by a minimum wage hike and households bringing purchases forward in expectation of higher inflation ahead.
Last year’s annual growth was revised up to 5.1 percent from an initial 4.5 percent, despite a slowdown in main trading partners and a devastating earthquake in February.
Since June of last year, the central bank has hiked its key interest rate to 50 percent from 8.5 percent in order to cool inflation that touched 75 percent in May but dipped to below 62 percent in July and is expected to continue falling.