IMF lifts GDP growth forecast for Turkish economy

WASHINGTON

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has lifted its GDP growth forecast for the Turkish economy for 2024 from a previous 3.1 percent to 3.6 percent.

According to the fund’s World Economic Outlook update, the Turkish economy will grow by 2.7 percent next year, a downward revision from the April report’s GDP expansion estimate of 3.2 percent.

The Turkish economy grew 5.4 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2024, accelerating from the 4 percent expansion recorded in the final quarter of last year.

The government’s GDP growth targets for 2024 and 2025 are 4 percent and 4.5 percent, respectively.

The IMF held global growth expectations for 2024 steady in the report, while warning of inflation risks and trade tensions ahead.

The International Monetary Fund expects the world economy to grow 3.2 percent this year, unchanged from its April forecast.

For 2025, it expects global growth of 3.3 percent.

There remain risks of sticky inflation amid renewed trade or geopolitical tensions, the IMF cautioned.

An escalation of trade tensions could also raise near-term inflation risks, by lifting costs of imported goods, IMF said.

Higher inflation could heighten the chances that interest rates stay elevated for longer, increasing financial risks, it warned.