The national economy will grow by 6-7% annually in the first quarter (Q1) of 2022, according to Treasury and Finance Minister Nureddin Nebati. Speaking at the general assembly meeting of the Istanbul Chamber of Industry (ISO), Nebati said industrial production rose annually by 10.7% in the first two months of the year, annualized exports rose to USD 235.6bn in Q1, total employment has exceeded 30 million people as of February, and the unemployment rate fell to 10.7%. “These preliminary indicators show that the Turkish economy will grow by 6-7% in Q1,” Nebati added. He also reiterated that Turkey supports value-added production including advanced technology to maintain sustainable and strong performance in exports and economic growth. Nebati also noted that the number of investment incentive certificates rose by 16% to 1,803 in 2021 in Istanbul and that an investment of TRY 32.8bn is estimated to be made with these certificates. Stressing that the government works with international institutions to finance green transformation investments the Treasury and Finance Minister added: “Within this frame, we’ll provide climate financing of USD 3.2bn to Turkey in the next three years. We’ve recently agreed to provide EUR 500m in financing to be used in energy efficiency from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.”
Moreover, ISO Chairman Erdal Bahcivan, who delivered the demands of industrialists to Nureddin Nebati at the meeting, highlighted that the manufacturing industry is among the segments that have been affected most by high inflation. “There is a significant surge in the need for operational capital and finance due to rising costs. Many processes from investment planning to price determination at the market are adversely affected. Inflation creates an important instability and predictability problem for industrialists,” Bahcivan said. Stressing that one of the adverse impacts of inflation emerges on the growth side, Bahcivan added: “Apart from the ongoing uncertainty environment in the world, a possible ‘alienation’ to be experienced in domestic demand due to erosion in real income to stem from inflation has a potential to adversely affect our growth performance. The leading economic indicators such as the Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) point out a slowdown in Q1.”
Food prices rose by 8.02 percent in April, compared to the previous month, according to a survey conducted by the Confederation of Turkish Trade Unions (TURK-IS). Prices also jumped by 85.02% in April year-over-year. The survey also pointed out that the monthly food expenditure required for a healthy, balanced, and sufficient nutrition of a family consisting of four people (hunger limit) amounted to TRY 5,323. In addition to food expenditures, the amount needed to secure the necessities of life such as housing (electricity, water, heating, etc.), clothing, transportation, education, health, etc. (poverty line) totaled TRY 17,340. The monthly cost of living for a single employee rose to TRY 6,965.
Looking at the stock exchange, Turkey’s benchmark stock index Borsa Istanbul closed at 2,451.43 points yesterday with a 1.37% daily gain. Starting the day at 2,425.36 points, the index jumped 33.13 points from Tuesday’s close of 2,418.30. The index’s lowest value during the day was 2,398.90 points, while its highest value was 2,453.88. Its total market value was almost TRY 2tr by market close, with a daily trading volume of over TRY 40.6bn.
DAILY AGENDA
The Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) will release the Economic Confidence Index for April (10.00 am).
The Central Bank (CB) will release the second Inflation Report of the year. The CB Governor Sahap Kavcioglu will make a presentation and answer the questions about the report (10.30 am).
The Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK) and the Central Bank will release weekly money and banking statistics (2.30 pm).
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