Turkey Records 11% Growth

The Turkish economy recorded 11.1% year-on-year growth in the third quarter of 2017, hitting highest quarterly growth since 2011, official data showed, Anadolu Agency reported. According to the Turkish Statistical Institute, TurkStat, it is the fastest quarter growth rate in six years since the first quarter of 2011 when 11.4% growth was recorded. Turkey’s economy grew 5.2% in the first quarter and 5.1% in the second quarter. The growth above forecasts are attributed to domestic demand as well as accelerated investment support by the government and strong contributions from exports, local experts said. All main sectors increased in the third quarter. The agricultural sector expanded by 2.8%, the manufacturing industry by 14.8%, the construction sector by 18.7%, and the services sector by 20.7%, TurkStat added. Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Simsek said that economic indicators currently signal a higher than 6.5% annual growth. He said the economy had grown 7.4% in the first nine months of the year.