Turkish currency and debt crisis

Türkiye's annual inflation rate dropped below 40 percent in May for the first time in 16 months, pushed down by a temporary offer of free gas to households, official data showed on June 5.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has vowed to fight inflation and to establish a finance management team with global reputation.

"Eliminating the problems caused by the rise of prices and compensate for welfare losses are the most urgent issues in the days ahead," Erdoğan said in a speech he delivered in Ankara after winning the second round of the presidential election.

The Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) will release the economic growth data for the first quarter on May 31.

The Turkish economy grew 5.6 percent last year with its GDP expanding 3.5 percent in the final quarter of 2022 from a year earlier.

The end-year inflation expectations in the Central Bank's latest survey of market participants eased from 37.77 in April to 37.17 percent in May.

The annual consumer price inflation further slowed to 43.68 percent in April from 50.5 percent in the previous month, with the CPI advancing 2.39 percent monthly.

The Turkish private sector's total outstanding loans received from abroad stood at $158 billion as of March, decreasing by $1.2 billion from the end of 2022.

Turkey's lira hit a two-month low on Monday and the country's credit default swaps jumped as a tightly-contested presidential election headed towards a runoff vote, while broader emerging market equities snapped a four-day losing streak.

After years of success, Turkey's strongman has been weakened by political and economic turmoil - and now confronts the greatest-ever challenge to his rule.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on May 9 announced a 45 percent increase in wages of public workers, ahead of the key May 14 elections.

"We are increasing wages by 45 percent, including the welfare share. Thus, we are raising the lowest public worker wage to TL 15,000," Erdoğan said at the 2023 Public Collective Labor Agreement Signing Ceremony.

The consumer confidence index has advanced by 9.2 percent on a monthly basis, rising from 80.1 in March to 87.5 in April, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) has reported

Any index figure above the 100-mark indicates optimism among consumers.

The headline consumer sentiment index was down 2.9 percent month-on-month in March.

Istanbul Finance Center (IFM) will enhance Türkiye's potential of attracting foreign capital inflow, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on April 17.