Turkey's economic growth soars in last quarter of 2015

ANKARA

Turkey's Gross Domestic Product growth soared at the rate of 5.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2015 compared with the same period in 2014, Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) reported Thursday.

The figure exceeded analyst consensus estimates of 3.8 percent.

Gross Domestic Product in the fourth quarter of 2015 rose to 34.8 billion Turkish liras ($12.25 billion), which was up 5.7 percent year-on-year, TurkStat said.

Performance in the fourth quarter pushed the overall annual GDP growth to 4 percent, with cumulative GDP reaching 131.3 billion Turkish liras in constant prices ($46.2 billion), it added.

"With 4 percent growth rate, Turkey is among top four fastest growing members in the G20 group, comprising the world’s 20 major economies," Mehmet Simsek, Turkish deputy prime minister in charge of the economy, said Thursday.

Analysts also saw the announcement as a big plus for Turkey.

"Turkish economy showed an improved performance in the fourth quarter; GDP growth rate surpassed the market expectation of 5 percent and our expectation of 4.1 percent," ALB Securities analyst Enver Erkan said.

"With the strong momentum of leading indicators, such as industrial production and confidence indexes, a strong growth was an expected one," Erkan added.

He noted the strongest contribution was from government expenditures, which grew by 6.7 percent.

"Also, personal consumption showed 4.5 percent growth rate. We expect a weaker performance, according to leading indicators of the first three months of 2016. But, we can expect a stronger performance again, with the help of stronger global recovery," he said.

"We closed 2015 with 4 percent growth. This is a very good growth rate. Also, a recovery observed in investments is another positive development," Finansinvest chief economist Burak Kanli said.

"We saw Turkish economy grew by 4 percent in line with the official targets,” economist Bora Tamer Yilmaz at Ziraat Securities told Anadolu Agency.

"We believe domestic consumption shouldered growth in a year in which geopolitical tension surged and two elections were held,” Yilmaz said.

Halk Investment's economist Banu Kivci Tokali said positive signals from industrial production also reflected in the growth data.

"The fourth quarter of last year became the period in which economic activity came to the fore. Private and public sector consumption as well as public investments were base elements in growth,” Tokali said.