Turkish economy surges 5 per cent in first quarter, beats forecasts

Ankara: Turkey's economy expanded 5 per cent in the first quarter, official data showed on Monday, sharply beating a 4 per cent forecast in a Reuters poll and boosting outlook expectations after a slowdown following last July's attempted coup.
Annual growth accelerated from 3.5 per cent in the fourth quarter, with the latest data showing expansion of 1.4 per cent on the quarter on a seasonally and calendar adjusted basis.
The failed putsch on July 15 last year resulted in the economy shrinking 1.3 per cent in the third quarter, the first quarterly economic contraction in seven years, prompting government initiatives to boost growth.
"(This) just underscores the remarkable resilience of the Turkish economy — favourable demographics, strong banks, strong public finances," said Timothy Ash of BlueBay Asset Management.
"This does also show the impact of the various government anti-crisis efforts, including various programmes to stimulate credit growth — which has seen a remarkable upturn," he added.
The data was a boost for President Tayyip Erdogan, whose powers were sharply widened by constitutional reforms approved in a referendum on April 16.
Finance Minister Naci Agbal said private consumption spending and tax cuts would continue to support Turkey's growth in the coming quarters.
The lira firmed to 3.5225 after the GDP figures from around 3.5371 in initial morning trade, while the main BIST 100 share index rose 0.43 per cent.