Standard & Poor holds Turkey's credit rating steady

By Ovunc Kutlu

NEW YORK

The Standard & Poor's (S&P) ratings agency left unchanged Turkey's credit rating Friday, but said its outlook remains "negative".

Turkey's foreign currency credit rating was held steady at BB, while its local currency credit rating was also preserved at BB+.

In a statement, S&P explained that Turkey has strengthened its exportation in almost all areas and strengthened exports is positively contributing to the country's gross domestic product.

Further, the country’s export volume in the first half of 2017 increased 10 percent due to exporters taking advantage of the "weak" lira.

The credit rating agency expects Turkey's economy to grow 5 percent this year and praised the government’s efforts to increase the numbers of women in the labor force and asserted it would benefit the country's growth rate.