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Turkish finance minister Mehmet Simsek said he would attend around 15 meetings each day in the US

Turkey courts US companies and investors during visit

Turkish finance minister Mehmet Simsek said he will meet with rating agencies, investors and companies planning to shift supply to Turkey during a visit to the US this week. “I will be in America this week for the IMF, World Bank and G20 meetings. We will meet with rating agencies in New York at the […]

City, Architecture, Building

Istanbul needs more houses as Turkey’s largest city grows

Istanbul, Turkey’s largest city, will need 122,000 new homes every year to support its growing population, a PwC report has said. The city will need 1.22 million houses over the next 10 years with the population expected to rise by 3 percent to 16.2 million by 2034, Hurriyet Daily newspaper reported, citing PwC Turkey. The […]

Fatih Karahan, governor of Turkey's central bank, speaks during a press conference in Istanbul

Turkey raises interest rates for first time in a year

Turkey’s central bank raised its key lending rate for the first time in a year on Thursday, reversing a steady decline this year, on concerns of higher inflation in the coming months. The bank’s monetary policy committee (MPC) increased its one-week repo auction rate to 46 percent on April 17 from 42.5 percent, the rate […]

A drone view shows the Aquatica carrying Russian oil on March 25

Turkey’s largest refiner buys Russian oil after price drop

Turkey’s largest oil refiner Tupras has returned to buying Russian Urals crude cargoes, after it stopped doing so earlier this year due to stronger US sanctions on Moscow, according to three trading sources and shipping data. Tupras did not immediately reply to a Reuters request for comment. The three sources said Tupras resumed its purchases […]

A street in Istanbul – Turkey property sales were strong for Q1

Turkish property sales jump may temper on market turmoil

Turkish property sales rose by 20 percent in the first quarter, but recent political unrest and economic uncertainty from mid-March onwards may weigh on the market. The number of property transactions rose to 335,786 in the three months to March 31 compared with the same period last year, according to data issued this week by […]

A closed bar in Istanbul. Turkey's economy has struggled with a depreciating lira and high interest rates

Turkey’s central bank records second-biggest ever loss

The Central Bank of Turkey lost 700 billion lira ($18 billion) last year, its second biggest loss ever after a record 2023. The loss came as the central bank made efforts to defend the Turkish lira while at the same time offering depositors higher interest rates on the local currency versus other currencies, paving the […]

Shoppers in Istanbul. Turkish inflation has fallen slightly and the lira has weakened against the dollar as money markets face flux

Tensions in trade and politics weigh on Turkish money markets

Political instability in Turkey and tariff-driven global trade tensions are weighing on Turkish money markets as international investors move out of local debt and locals buy up foreign currency. In the three weeks ending April 4, non-resident investors sold $8.5 billion of Turkish debt, according to a report released by the central bank last week.  […]

Workers pick hazelnuts in Ordu on the Black Sea coast. Turkey provides 75% of international supply and much of the crop is used to make chocolate

Frost and snow deal blow to Turkey’s biggest export crops

Turkey’s agriculture sector is reeling after much of the country was struck by hard frosts last week, damaging vital crops such as hazelnuts and apricots and jeopardising export income.  Temperatures plunged between April 10 and 12, with lows of -15C in some regions. More than a third of Turkey’s 81 provinces had frosts and snowfall. […]

Finance minister Mehmet Simsek said oil prices below $65 could mean Turkey's current account deficit stays below 1.5% of GDP

Turkey says oil price under $65 will tame inflation

Turkey’s finance minister Mehmet Simsek said that if the oil price remains below $65 a barrel, it will lower year-end inflation by 1 to 1.6 points this year. Responding to a Reuters question on the impact of a fall in oil prices following recent global trade measures, Simsek said persistent oil prices below $65 could […]

Alparslan Bayraktar, Turkey's energy minister, sees the preliminary exploration and survey agreement signed with Somalia as the start of a wider move into the Africa energy sector

Turkey expands African energy foothold with Somali agreement

Turkey is expanding its presence in the Somali energy sector after striking a deal to conduct preliminary surveys for oil and gas deposits across the African country as it seeks to reduce its reliance on energy imports, notably from Russia. Turkish energy minister Alparslan Bayraktar and his Somali counterpart Dahir Shire Mohamed this week signed […]

Turkey hopes that its exports to the US may benefit from heavier tariffs on competing nations

Turkey looks for positives from tariff fallout

Turkey is eyeing a potential upside in its international trade as Donald Trump takes on China and much of the rest of the world in a trade war. As one of the countries initially hit with Trump’s baseline 10 percent tariff, many in Turkey had nonetheless forecast export doors to the US would open for […]

A sushi production line at Turkey's Kocaman Fisheries. The company exports to 30 countries and will soon be sending its sushi products to the Gulf region

Turkish fish processors adapt as taste for sushi grows

Turkish seafood processors are expanding their product range to cash in on new tastes, eating habits and markets, adding the Japanese delicacy sushi to their offerings. Not so long ago sushi was a rarity in Turkey. It featured on the menus of a few Japanese restaurants in tourist areas catering to foreign visitors rather than […]

Person, Worker, Clothing Turkish Petroleum Corporation signed an agreement last week to participate in an offshore oil and gas bidding jointly with Pakistani companies

Turkey steps up oil exploration in Pakistan

Energy-poor Turkey is expanding into international oil and gas exploration with a focus on Pakistan, a senior government official has said. “Turkish firms are now turning their focus to international opportunities,” Alparslan Bayraktar, the energy and natural resources minister, said in a speech in Pakistan, according to Daily Sabah newspaper. This week, state-run Turkish Petroleum […]

Turkey's trade minister Omer Bolat. Turkey has commenced negotiations with the GCC after previously securing free trade deals with the UAE and Qatar

Gulf countries start free trade talks with Turkey

The Saudi-led Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and Turkey have begun talks towards a free trade agreement, the UAE’s state-run Wam news agency reported. Ankara has already signed free trade agreements with the UAE and Qatar, Wam said, citing Turkish trade minister Ömer Bolat. The UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain are all members of the […]

People in Istanbul using their mobile phones. Turkey’s fintech ecosystem and young population are some of the factors behind a burgeoning startup sector

Turkish startups scaling up, despite political unrest

Turkey’s startups bucked global trends in 2024, posting significant increases in the number of transactions and volumes.  Despite the current political turmoil, further growth is forecast for the year ahead. There were 331 transactions recorded last year, compared with 297 in 2023, according to a recent report by financial services firm KPMG. Value increased by […]

AviLease will provide Turkish Airlines with a total of eight planes

PIF-backed AviLease agrees Turkish Airlines rentals

Saudi Arabia’s Aircraft Leasing Company (AviLease) has signed long-term leases with state-owned Turkish Airlines for Airbus A320neo aircraft.  Two of the aircraft have already been delivered, with the remaining six scheduled for delivery throughout 2025, the airline said in a statement. Riyadh-based AviLease’s CEO Edward O’Byrne, said these aircraft will support Turkish Airlines’ growth plans and […]

A note in a book store says it has joined the Turkish opposition's call for a shopping boycott following the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu

Turkish stocks drop 3% during global selloff

Turkish stocks dropped more than 3 percent on Monday, led by banks and fuelled by a global market selloff over US tariffs and counter moves. There is also ongoing pressure on the lira due to the jailing last month of Istanbul’s mayor. Istanbul’s main share index was off 2.5 percent at 08:50 GMT after opening […]

Turkey's Izmir container terminal. Trade between Turkey and the US rose 5 percent to $35.2bn in 2024

Turkey favours trade boost with US despite tariffs

Turkey aims to increase bilateral trade with the US to $100 billion, despite facing a 10 percent traffic from the Trump administration, according to a news report. Ankara is working towards removing the new tariffs imposed by Washington, Hurriet Daily News an English daily, reported citing trade minister Ömer Bolat. The country is ramping up trade […]

Turkey textiles Female workers working in a textile factory

Textile companies in Turkey move to Egypt to compete

Producers in Turkey’s once vibrant textiles industry are looking at moving to Egypt and elsewhere to stay afloat in the face of rising costs and fierce international competition. Company closures and job losses mean employment in the textiles sector has dropped below one million for the first time since the height of the Covid pandemic, […]

Car parts form one of Turkey's main exports

Turkey’s auto industry hit hardest by tariffs

Turkish exporters expressed mixed feelings on the news of President Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs.  There was relief that most sectors escaped with just a 10 percent impost, but Turkey’s car and parts producers, one of the country’s leading manufacturing and exporting sectors, were much less happy with the 25 percent tariff on all automotive […]

Shoppers in a mall in Istanbul. The Turkish consumer price index measure of inflation has fallen for 10 months

Turkish inflation cools but may soon rise again

Turkey’s inflation rate eased for the tenth straight month in March, although there are concerns that persistent political unrest could lead to a reversal of this trend in coming months, as the cost of a weaker currency and disruptions to the economy flow into the pricing chain.  The consumer price index fell to 38.1 percent […]