ANKARA
Turkey’s economy grew 1.7 percent in the third quarter of 2014, according to official data released Wednesday, much lower than many analysts expected.
“GDP increased by 1.7 percent in the third quarter of 2014 and reached 33 billion 530 million Turkish liras at constant prices,” the Turkish Statistical Authority said in a report released on its website.
In the first quarter of 2014, the Turkish economy surprised authorities with a strong growth performance of 4.3 percent, but the figures dropped to 2.1 percent in the second quarter due to the eruption of the geopolitical crisis in Iraq and Syria and fragile economic recovery in Europe.
Economists participating in The Anadolu Agency's Growth Expectation survey forecast Turkey to grow by 2.9 percent in the third quarter of 2014, well above the 1.7 percent figure released Wednesday.
Turkish economic officials, however, expect recent sharp drops in oil prices to benefit Turkey significantly in the last quarter of 2014, helping to boost economic growth and reduce the current account deficit.
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