Structural reforms key to Turkey's growth: CB head

ANKARA

Central Bank Governor Murat Cetinkaya has said the implementation of structural reforms would contribute to Turkey’s growth potential.

In remarks made during a presentation on “Economic Outlook and Monetary Policy” at the 2016 annual meetings of the IMF and the World Bank Group in Washington D.C. Thursday, which was published on the bank's webpage on Friday, Cetinkaya said leading indicators suggest economic activity in Turkey would recover starting from the final quarter of the year.

He said low global rates and low commodity prices support external balances and inflation outlook in the country.

“The growth rate in Turkey has outperformed emerging economies in recent years,” he said. "Structural reforms will be the key drivers of balanced growth," he added.

Turkey’s 2016 growth expectation was revised to 3.2 percent from 4.5 percent by the government in the new Medium Term Economic Program for 2017-2019 on Tuesday.

However, he said, weaker global demand restrains economic activity.

He said human capital and labor markets, R&D, technology and innovation, productivity and competition, domestic savings and physical infrastructure were key reform areas for the country.

Core inflation has continued to improve throughout 2016, while Consumer Price Index remains volatile, he said.

Consumer prices in Turkey increased by 0.18 percent month-on-month in September, while annual inflation hit 7.28 percent last month, down from the 8.05 percent posted in August, according to Turkish Statistics Institute on Oct. 3.

“Disinflation process is expected to continue,” he said. “The bank maintains a cautious stance to ensure the sustainability of the disinflation process.”