ANKARA: The World Bank anticipates that Turkey’s economy will grow by 3 percent this year, a downgrade from an earlier forecast of 3.5 percent, according to a report released by the bank on Thursday.
The unexpected inventory build-up and a series of poor leading indicators suggest the current economic weakness is likely to be extended into the first half of 2015,” said the bank in its report.
The lira has plummeted in 2015, and a further fall might curb the influence of a narrowing current account deficit (CAD) on inflation.
The fall in energy prices and weak domestic demand are helping bring the current account deficit down, but in the face of further exchange rate depreciation, the impact on inflation is less than expected,” said the report.
Weak industrial activity has slowed the pace of job creation, but external adjustment continues, driven by an increase in gold exports and a lower energy bill,” it added.
Referring to the upcoming June 7 general election, the World Bank said the pre-election atmosphere has created uneasiness among investors.
Uncertainty related to the upcoming parliamentary elections continues to weigh on investor sentiment; rapid implementation of key structural reforms is critical to restore confidence,” said the report.
Turkish gross domestic product (GDP) growth slowed to 2.9 percent in 2014 from 4.2 percent the preceding year, data from the Turkish Statistics Institute (TurkStat) showed last month.
The figures signal a major headache for the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), which has had a solid record on the economy since coming to power in 2002 and is aiming for a victory in this year’s elections so that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will be able to achieve his dream of establishing a “Turkish-style” executive presidency.
Turkey has the lowest rate of female participation in the labor force of any country in the Organization for Cooperation and Economic Development (OECD), said Professor Bahar Taner of Mersin University during a panel in Mersin province earlier this week.
We fell short of reaching the 30 percent level regarding female employment; unfortunately we are at 29.5 percent. But if you look at Scandinavian countries, it’s 78.5 percent in Iceland, 74 percent in Norway and 72 percent in Denmark,” Taner said.
