By Joshua Kirby
The Turkish economy continued to grow in the second quarter, rebounding from a devastating earthquake earlier in the year and providing a fillip for re-elected President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as the country battles with soaring inflation and a devalued currency.
Based on seasonally- and calendar-adjusted terms, gross domestic product increased by 3.5% between April and June compared with the previous quarter, according to data from the country's statistics office Turkstat published Thursday. Compared with the same quarter a year ago, the economy expanded 5.0%, Turkstat said.
In the first quarter of the year, the economy had grown 4.0% on year and 0.3% form the previous three-month period.
The growth comes despite extremely high inflation and a major earthquake that hit the country's southwest in February, causing billions of dollars in damage.
Despite rising prices, household consumption continued to drive economic growth in the second quarter of the year, Turkstat said. Consumption grew 16% on year, while imports rose 20%, the agency said.
Turkey's central bank, under new governor Hafize Gaye Erkan, has begun to act more decisively to rein in inflation, raising its key interest rate by a further 7.5 percentage points to 25% last week. But inflation is expected to keep soaring and end 2023 at around 60%, according to the bank's August survey of market participants.
Write to Joshua Kirby at joshua.kirby@wsj.com; @joshualeokirby
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
08-31-23 0328ET
