The International Monetary Fund Revises Upwards its Economic Growth Forecast for Turkey in 2021

Supported by the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine and the economic recovery of its trading partners, Turkey's economy is expected to expand by around 6% in 2021, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). This is higher than the 5.0% growth rate forecast previously in October 2020.

The IMF attributed this recovery to speedy monetary and credit expansion, which comprised policy rate cuts, inexpensive, rapid lending growth by state-owned banks and changes to regulations to boost credit in 2021.

Turkey was one of the few countries to rebound in the third quarter of 2020 to above pre-pandemic levels. Turkey’s gross domestic product achieved a 6.7% growth rate in the third quarter of 2020, after contracting by 9.9% in the previous three months.

The...