Second-quarter growth expected to be above 7.3 percent: Minister

The economic growth rate is expected to be above 7.3 percent in the second quarter of 2022, Treasury and Finance Minister Nureddin Nebati has expressed.

"The economy grew by 7.3 percent in the first quarter. We are expecting a growth rate above that in the second quarter," Nebati said in an interview with private broadcaster NTV on Aug. 23.

The growth is based on a balance between domestic and foreign trade, the minister said, adding that there has been a significant inflow of capital into the country, which manifests itself in the increase in the Borsa Istanbul benchmark index and trading volume.

Those inflows are in the form of foreign direct investments and investments in the property market, Nebati added.

The minister also said that Türkiye would face no problems financing the current account deficit, recalling that the deficit was $13 billion last year and stood at $32.7 billion as of June.

The annual inflation rate will enter a downward trend in December due to the base effect, and the decline will continue through 2023, Nebati said.

'Türkiye needs investments, not rate hikes'

Türkiye needs to boost investments, employment, production and current account surplus not to increase interest rates, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said following a cabinet meeting on Aug. 22, urging people to put their savings in Turkish Lira deposit accounts.

"The interest rate-exchange rates-inflation equation has been the most challenging test for the Turkish economy lately," Erdoğan said, recalling that the country's economic model is based on growth through investments, production and current account surplus.

Some fail to grasp the reasoning behind this model, the president expressed. "But we know...