IMF praises Turkish economy, maintains global growth forecasts

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has hailed Turkey's 2017 economic growth thanks to a strong recovery in the country's exports in its updated World Economic Outlook, in which the fund kept its growth forecasts for the world economy unchanged for this year and next, although it revised up growth expectations for the euro zone and China.

In its updated outlook, which was published on July 23, the IMF forecasted that in Emerging and Developing Europe, growth is to pick up in 2017, primarily driven by a higher growth forecast for Turkey, where exports recovered strongly in the last quarter of 2016 and the first quarter of 2017 following four quarters of moderate contraction and external demand is projected to be stronger with improved prospects for euro area trading partners.

It did not make any change in its growth forecast for Turkey. In its previous report, which was published in April, the IMF forecasted that the Turkish economy would grow 2.5 percent in 2017 and 3.3 percent in 2018. 

The global economic recovery is on firmer footing as improving growth in China, Europe and Japan offset downward revisions for the United States and Britain, the Fund said. 

However, wage growth remains sluggish, which risks increasing tensions that have pushed some countries toward more anti-global policies, while efforts to erode financial regulations put in place since the 2008 crisis could erode stability, the IMF warned.

"The recovery in global growth that we projected in April is on a firmer footing; there is now no question mark over the world economy's gain in momentum," IMF chief economist Maurice Obstfeld said, as quoted by AFP on July 24. 

"Recent data point to the broadest synchronized upswing the world economy has...