Turkish economy fine, World Bank exec says

ISTANBUL - Anatolia News Agency

World Bank’s Turkey Director Martin Raiser is confident about the Turkish economy. AA photo

Turkey’s economy is on the right track, World Bank Turkey Director Martin Raiser has said.

Raiser said is confident about the Turkish economy, calling a recent slowdown in economic growth normal as the country was struggling for balance, according to Anatolia news agency. Neither the current budget gap nor the inflation is alarming, according to Raiser.

“If you want the economy to rebalance, then a decline in growth is inevitable,” he said.

The bank estimates around a 3 percent annual growth this year in Turkey and expects a rebalancing in the economy, he also said.

Raiser said a lower current account deficit can be only obtained by slower growth “because risks in the international economy are quite high. We have seen a tightening monetary policy and rising supervision in the banking sector in the second half of last year. This naturally caused a slowdown in the economy. But I see that Turkey’s economic growth is in line with a soft landing and rebalancing scenario,” he said, adding that Turkey’s economic growth will likely accelerate to 4 percent next year.

“There is a certain risk that Turkey may not be able to meet its budgetary target [in 2012]. However, I do think that the situation regarding the budget is not so dramatic,” Raiser also said.

Touching on Turkey’s inflation, he said, “It would not be right to forget about inflation just because growth figures have dropped. We see fewer risks in inflation in Turkey in the upcoming term.”