Turkey’s growth is estimated to be four percent by the end of the year, in line with medium-term targets, Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan has said.
During a TV interview on Wednesday, Babacan said foreign demand was the most important element affecting growth.
“The measures we took gave results earlier than expected,” he said. “Before there was a mostly domestic demand-driven growth, which increased the current account deficit. Now we keep our growth at four percent and a significant decline in the current account deficit has started.”
Babacan said the effects of the European recovery have been seen quickly, with a 10 to 20 percent increase in exports to countries such as Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom.
He added: "If we do not see a substantially negative development in exports, a four percent growth target is achievable. If we see deterioration in exports worse than estimated, growth may be slightly lower than four percent. But even according to negative scenarios we do not expect big effects.”
Ratings agency Moody’s warned Turkey last month that the crisis triggered by fighting in Iraq might pose a risk to its current account deficit, growth and inflation.
