Turkish currency and debt crisis

The Turkish Central Bank on Nov. 18 cut its benchmark one-week repo rate by 100 basis points from 16 percent to 15 percent in line with market expectations.

At its 11th Monetary Policy Committee meeting this year, the bank said recent increases in inflation had been driven by supply-side factors such as rising food and import prices, especially in energy, and supply constraints.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has reiterated his continued fight against high interest rates and inflation, vowing to take measures to protect the low-income groups in the face of rising living costs. 

According to a Reuters poll, the Turkish central bank is expected to cut its key interest rate to 15% from 16% this week

A growth model would not be sustainable if not based on efficiency development, Treasury and Finance Minister Lütfi Elvan said in a parliament commission meeting on Nov. 12.

The Turkish economy has been successful in showing resilience against various shocks to continue expanding, Fitch Ratings senior director and primary rating analyst Erich Arispe Morales said on Nov. 5.

Turkey's financial sector acts as an "anchor" for the economy, he said.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Nov. 3 celebrated the 19th anniversary of the AKP assuming power in the country.

"We've come to these days with the favor of our nation over 19 years and we've had a path of service that continues to rise, experiencing no difficulties," Erdoğan told reporters in the capital Ankara.

S&P on Oct. 22 affirmed Turkey's long-term foreign currency rating at "B+" and long-term local currency rating at "BB-," with a stable outlook.

The stable outlook considers the risks from Turkey's economic imbalances, but these are partly offset by the resilience of Turkey's private sector and the manageable stock of net general government debt, the global rating agency said.

With Istanbul Finance Center, a project expected to be launched by early 2022, Turkey targets to be a hub for Islamic finance, the nation's president said on Oct. 21.

Turkey's share in global exports has surpassed 1% for the first time in its history, the country's trade minister announced on Oct. 19. 

"This figure was 0.14% in 1980 and 0.43% in 2000. Turkish products are now exported to all over the world," Mehmet Mus said on Twitter, citing data from the World Trade Organization and the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK).

Despite pandemic-driven bottlenecks in the global supply chain, Turkey's rapid economic recovery, its progress in vaccinating its population against COVID-19, and its strong industrial production trends have resulted in international organizations revising their 2021 growth forecasts for the country.