Turkey Sees 4.1% Growth

Turkey’s economic growth will fall short of the government’s target this year, a Reuters poll showed on Wednesday, even as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling party continues to implement stimulus measures ahead of elections. The economy will expand 4.1% in 2018, according to the poll of 53 economists, well below the government’s forecast of 5.5% and just above the 4% predicted in a January Reuters poll. Under its medium-term economic program, the government is forecasting annual economic growth of 5.5% through 2020. However, the Reuters poll estimates growth for 2019 at just 4%. Turkish gross domestic product expanded 7.4% in 2017, its fastest annual rate since 2013, thanks to robust growth in industrial output and construction. Erdogan has introduced a series of stimulus measures, including tax changes and an increase in the government’s Credit Guarantee Fund, which backs loans to smaller businesses. But analysts have voiced concern about overheating and the central bank’s inability to rein in double-digit inflation.