ISTANBUL

Türkiye is targeting a decrease in the annual inflation rate to below 20% next year and single-digit levels in 2026, its vice president said Friday.

Cevdet Yilmaz stressed at a meeting with business leaders in Istanbul that uncertainty is the most important problem in the economy but Türkiye is in a period when it is reducing uncertainties to a minimum.

The Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) said this week that Türkiye's annual inflation rate was at 49.38% in September, its lowest since July 2023.

Türkiye continues ensuring predictability, sustainability and confidence, noted Yilmaz.

Growing is important, he said. Türkiye is a developing country and it should continue to grow.

He noted that Türkiye's growth rate was at 5.4% on average during the last two decades, while the rate was at 3.6% for the globe.

Emphasizing that the current account deficit was close to $60 billion in the middle of last year, he said it is currently below $20 billion.

Yilmaz noted that there was a significant decline in the country’s risk premium and reserves in the Central Bank reached a historical record Sept. 27, with gross reserves amounting to $157.4 billion.

*Writing by Gokhan Ergocun