Turkish currency and debt crisis

Turkey's central bank on Jan. 20 has kept interest rates steady on Jan. 20. 

The bank left its policy rate at 14 percent two days after President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan - a fervent opponent of high interest rates - said future reductions could come "gradually and without any rush".

The Central Bank of Turkey has announced that it will hold an extraordinary general meeting on Feb. 3.

The advance payment of from the bank's 2021 profits to the shareholders and the distribution of reserve funds will be discussed at the meeting next month. The Treasury owns almost all shares o the Central Bank.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is meeting Treasury and Finance Minister Nureddin Nebati, Central Bank Chief Şahap Kavcıoğlu and the CEOs of state banks today in Istanbul.

The meeting is taking place at the Vahdettin Pavilion in Istanbul.

Turkey,

Turkey's trade volume with the United States reached $25 billion in the first 11 months of this year, Turkey-U.S. Business Council (TAİK) chair Mehmet Ali Yalçındağ has said.

International credit rating agecny Moody's has revised up its Turkey growth forecast for this year from 9.2 percent to 11 percent.

"Moody's expects that real GDP growth will slow to around 4 percent in 2022, compared to this year's extraordinary growth rate that Moody's estimates will come in at around 11 percent," Moody's said on Dec. 3.

International credit rating agency Fitch has raised its Turkey growth forecast for 2021 from 9.2 percent to 10.5 percent, while it changed its outlook assessment from stable to negative.

Turkey can produce goods cheaper and sell those products to other countries and raise revenues in U.S. dollars like China has done, but Turkey has more advantages in terms of luring foreign investments, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said.

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has revised up its 2021 growth forecast for Turkey by 0.6 percentage points to 9 percent.

"In the absence of further shocks, GDP growth is projected to be 9 percent in 2021 before easing to 3.3 percent in 2022 and 3.9 percent in 2023," the OECD said in its Economic Outlook report released on Dec. 1.

The new economic model that Turkey is pursuing aims to grow the national economy by boosting investment, employment, production and export, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said, reiterating that this strategy will likely record more than 10 percent growth by the end of this year.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Nov. 30 again rejected the idea of raising interest rates.

"With the new economic model, we reject out of hand the policy of attracting hot money with high interest rates," Erdoğan said in an interview on state TV.

"We will support production and exports with lower rates," Erdoğan stated.