Interest rate hike decision ‘temporary’

GAZİANTEP - Anadolu Agency

AA Photo

Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekçi said Feb. 1 the rate hike by the Central Bank is a temporary decision.

Speaking at a Turkish Exporters’ Assembly meeting in the southeastern province of Gaziantep, Zeybekçi said the “rate hike decision is temporary in nature and not a permanent interest rate decision.”

During the meeting in Gaziantep, Turkey announced its exports increased 9.6 percent in January compared to the same month last year, hitting $12.015 billion. Turkey’s exports in 2013 were down 0.4 percent year-on-year, reaching $151.86 billion, while imports were up 6.4 percent year-on-year to $251.6 billion.

To increase its exports, Turkey has been studying growth in the United States, the world’s largest economy, Zeybekçi said. “The U.S. achieved this because it put emphasis on the use of raw materials, on the forward planning of energy resources, on managing consumer habits for consumption,” he said.