The global crisis, which started with the pandemic, jumped with the hike in energy and commodity prices, worsened with hot conflicts, and continues with new dimensions while inflation and unemployment rate have hit a 50-60-year high across the world, according to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Speaking at the 38th ministerial meeting of the Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation (COMCEC) of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Istanbul, President Erdogan said the efforts to control inflation by increasing interest rates haven’t given the expected result yet. Stressing that energy cuts have become a source of concern in many European countries, Erdogan added: “The problems caused by the break of the supply chain haven’t been permanently solved. We all are adversely affected by the economic difficulties caused by the cost of living. The recession expectation has increased in the world. As Islamic countries, we should further develop commercial and economic cooperation, and turning the crisis into opportunity will contribute to us in our fight.”
FX rates, which remain below inflation, push competition conditions in terms of exports, according to Mustafa Gultepe, Chairman of the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TIM). Speaking to daily EKONOMI, Gultepe said they expect FX rates to reach a level that will support exporters. Stressing that they have headed towards market diversification to reduce the adverse impact of recession in traditional markets, Gultepe added: “We’ll carry out work to increase our market share in South America, North America, and Asia which have growth potential.”
Turkey’s benchmark stock index ended yesterday at a new all-time daily high close of 4,923.23 points, up 1.0% with a daily trading volume of TRY 114.6bn. After starting the day at a record high of 4,906.40 points, Borsa Istanbul’s BIST 100 index gained 48.89 points from Friday’s close. The index also saw an intraday record of 4,970.36 points. The global markets have made a negative start to the week after the protests against the zero COVID policy spread across China while Borsa Istanbul has positively differentiated from them, according to analysts. They said 4,680-4,830 points will be the support level and 5,000 points will be the resistance level for the BIST 100 index, in technical terms.
Turkey may appoint an ambassador to Egypt in the upcoming period, according to Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu. “Political consultations between deputy ministers could be rescheduled soon. An ambassador might be appointed in the coming months,” Mevlut Cavusoglu told a group of reporters in the capital Ankara. On NATO accession bids of Sweden and Finland, Cavusoglu said he will hold some bilateral meetings on the sidelines of today’s NATO Foreign Ministers’ meeting in the Romanian capital Bucharest.
DAILY AGENDA
The Economic Confidence Index dropped by 0.2% from 97.1 to 96.9 in November, compared to the previous month, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat).
Exports increased by 3.0% to USD 21.32bn and imports jumped 31.4% to USD 29.2bn in October, compared to the same month last year, according to TurkStat.
Meanwhile…
>> Firuz Baglikaya has been reelected as the Chairman of the Association of Turkish Travel Agencies (TURSAB).
>> Public banks held 44.7% of total deposits, while domestic private banks and foreign capital banks held 31.5% and 23.8% of total deposits, respectively, in January-September, according to the Banks Association of Turkey (TBB). The share of the top five banks in total deposits reached 65.6% in the same period.
>> The interest rate charged by banks for TRY deposits declined by 37 basis points to 15.91%, while the interest rate for USD and EUR deposits increased by 13 basis points to 2.69% and rose by eight basis points to 0.92%, respectively, in the week ending on November 18, compared to the previous week, according to the Central Bank.
READ A SELECTED ARTICLE FROM OUR MAGAZINE:
>> Globally high food inflation
Daily EKONOMI Editorial Coordinator and Columnist Talip Aktas examines food inflation in Turkey and the world.
