The Treasury and Finance Minister Nureddin Nebati held a meeting with members of the business world operating in the food, ceramics, cement and building materials, ready-wear, furniture, major appliances and home appliances industries within the scope of the fight against inflation. The representatives of the companies operating in the food sector agreed to take “bold” steps in their price policies in addition to the value-added tax (VAT) reduction, Nebati said on Twitter. “We grant no quarter to the unprovoked price hike, and we’ll never make concessions in our fight against inflation by implementing different instruments efficiently if needed. Despite all global problems, we’ll be in coordination with our companies to protect each segment of our society. We’ll continue to work to stabilize our economy permanently so that our citizens are not under inflation pressure,” Nebati added.
Turkey’s benchmark stock index Borsa Istanbul closed yesterday with losses, down 2.57% to 2,390.98 points. The BIST 100 index fell 62.96 points from Wednesday’s close of 2,490.17 points. The benchmark index posted a daily trading volume of TRY 45.5bn. The tendency of investors to avoid risky assets continues in parallel with global economic growth and inflationist pressures, according to analysts. They also stated that between 2,410 and 2,350 points will be the support level and 2,470 points will be the resistance level for the BIST 100 index, in technical terms.
A six-day slide in TRY has left traders predicting that authorities are now targeting a new level, as weak as 15.5 to the USD, in a months-long effort to stabilize the exchange rate using its depleted reserves together with other measures, according to Reuters. Four Turkish traders said the central bank has likely set a new trading band of 15 to 15.5, allowing fpr some depreciation in the face of a global flight to USD and relieving pressure on the bank’s dwindling foreign reserves. One bank trader said more depreciation would be allowed so that the USD/TRY remains between 15.5 and 16, since depreciation has risen as the Federal Reserve raises interest rates to head off inflation, hurting emerging markets.
Turkey’s top court upheld convictions and a jail term against leading opposition politician Canan Kaftancioglu for insulting the president and the state, according to a ruling it made public yesterday. Kaftancioglu heads the main opposition Republican People’s Party’s (CHP) Istanbul branch and is one of the strongest voices in it. CHP leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu had urged all opposition lawmakers to gather outside the court to protest the rulings.
DAILY AGENDA
The industrial production index rose by 9.6% in March, compared to the same month last year, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat). The index dropped by 1.8% month-over-month in March.
Retail sales volume increased by 2.5% while retail turnover jumped 90.5% in March year-over-year, according to TurkStat.
The total turnover index soared 112.9% in March, compared to the same month of the previous year, according to TurkStat. The index climbed by 8.4% on a monthly basis.
Meanwhile…
>> Foreign investors’ net equity, government debt securities (GDS) and corporate bond outflow from Turkey totaled USD 243.9m, USD 75.8m and USD 4.3m respectively, in the week ending on May 6, according to the Central Bank. Thus, the total outflow reached USD 324m.
>> The Central Bank’s international net reserves declined by USD 2.01bn to USD 14.99bn in the week ending on May 6, compared to the previous week. The figure points out the lowest level since the week ending on January 28. The bank’s total reserves rose by USD 794m to USD 107.65bn in the same period.
>> The non-performing loans in the banking sector rose by TRY 429m to TRY 161.18bn in the week ending on May 6, compared to the previous week, according to the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK). The sector’s total loan volume surged by TRY 5.14bn from TRY 5.63tr to TRY 5.64tr, while its total deposits increased by TRY 42.53bn to TRY 6.17tr in the same period.
>> The state-owned Ziraat Bank’s participation banking arm Ziraat Katilim raised its total asset size by 24% to TRY 121.6bn in the first quarter of the year (Q1), compared to the end of 2021. Ziraat Katilim’s net profit totaled TRY 1.2bn in Q1.
>> The banking sector’s loan stock used by agricultural companies rose by 11.5% from TRY 162.03bn to TRY 180.73bn at the end of March, compared to the end of 2021, according to BDDK.
>> The average household size dropped from 4 people to 3.23 people in 2021, compared to 2008, according to TurkStat.
>> Residents’ FX deposit accounts rose by USD 1.71bn in the week ending on May 6, compared to the previous week, according to the parity adjusted data of the Central Bank.
