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A banner with with Istanbul mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu's picture. Turkey's economy has been shaken by his arrest

Turkey central bank rate hike fails to calm nervous markets

Turkey’s central bank has raised its overnight lending rate, a move designed to tighten liquidity and reassure markets it is prepared to intervene in response to financial instability stemming from the arrest this week of a leading political opposition figure. The move has so far failed to settle the markets. The detention of İstanbul mayor Ekram […]

Supporters of Ekrem İmamoğlu gather outside the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality building to protest against his detention

Turkish political uncertainty casts economic cloud

The detention of a leading opposition figure in Turkey just days before he was to be named as a candidate in presidential elections is likely to set back the country’s campaign against sky-high interest rates and persistent inflation, analysts have warned. Ekram İmamoğlu, the mayor of İstanbul and leading member of the opposition Republican People’s […]

İmamoğlu arrest in Turkey

Istanbul mayor’s arrest sends Turkish markets crashing

Markets in Turkey were thrown into turmoil on Wednesday after the arrest of Ekrem İmamoğlu, a leading political opposition figure, with the stock exchange, lira and bonds all recording sharp losses. İmamoğlu, the mayor of Istanbul, was expected to be named on Sunday as the Republican People’s Party candidate for Turkey’s next presidential election. He […]

Iraq's prime minister Mohammed Shia Al Sudani has agreed a deal over costs with the KRG

Final kink obstructs reopening of Iraq-Turkey pipeline

Iraq’s oil pipeline through Turkey – which has been closed for two years – is not just a pipeline. It raises a cornucopia of issues: declining Russian oil exports to Turkey, US pressure on Iraq to stop illicit Iraqi oil exports to Iran, peace with the militant Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in eastern Turkey, how […]

Person, Worker, Clothing

Turkey imports crude from Brazil after Russian oil ban

Turkey’s largest oil refiner Tupras is set to receive a cargo of Itapu crude early next month, its first such purchase from Brazil, according to a source, and ship tracking data. Tupras last month said it had stopped buying Russian crude after the US announced new sanctions on Russia’s oil industry on January 10. The cargo of […]

A ferry from the Turkish resort town of Bodrum arrives in Kos, Greece. Greece is one of the most popular destinations for Turkish travellers

Turks turn to credit cards for foreign purchases

Turks are increasingly using credit cards to buy goods and services abroad, as inflation and taxes eat away at their buying power at home.  Turkish people used their credit cards more than 380 million times for overseas purchases last year, spending $11.5 billion, according to a new report by the central bank’s Bankalarası Kart Merkezi […]

Oil company executives sign the oil and gas deal in the presence of Turkish energy minister Alparslan Bayraktar (centre standing)

Turkey ties up with US to develop its shale fields

State-backed Turkish Petroleum Corporation and US energy companies Continental Resources and TransAtlantic Petroleum will jointly develop unconventional oil and natural gas resources in the Diyarbakir Basin in the east of Turkey, according to a statement. “This cooperation will greatly contribute to our goal of bringing Turkey’s oil and gas resources to our economy,” energy minister […]

Workers assemble an i10 at the Hyundai plant in Izmit, Turkey. EVs may use fewer Turkish-made components

Hyundai to start building electric cars in Turkey next year

Hyundai is the latest in a string of Asian car companies looking to build electric vehicles in Turkey, taking advantage of its proximity to the European Union and Russia. However, components made in Turkey will almost certainly be used less than they are in the manufacture of petrol cars, analysts have said. South Korea’s Hyundai […]

BİM is one of four leading Turkish FMCG retailers under investigation by the country's competition watchdog

Watchdog investigates four of Turkey’s biggest retailers

Turkey’s competition watchdog is carrying out an investigation into four of the country’s five biggest retailers by sales, the supermarket group Carrefour, the discount store chain BİM, the supermarket chain Migros and the discount store group Şok.  Their shares on the Boursa Istanbul fell by as much as 6.3 percent on Monday, the day the […]

Wealthy investors have another asset to trade with securitisation

Asset securitisation in the Gulf takes its first baby steps 

Asset securitisation, a $14 trillion business in the United States, seems to be finally gaining ground in the Gulf. Last week the UAE lender Deem Finance sealed a $400 million asset securitisation deal with JP Morgan. Emirates NBD of Dubai and Rasmal Ventures in Qatar have also co-invested $7.6 million in the Turkish startup TeamSec, […]

Two men and a child eating dates. Many Muslims turn to dates to break their fast during Ramadan but prices in Turkey have risen

Supply restrictions send Turkey date prices soaring

Prices for dates in Turkey ahead of Ramadan pretty much always rise because that is when demand surges. The Turks are otherwise not big eaters of the dried fruit. But during Ramadan it is usually the first food muslims in the Middle East and elsewhere tend to eat to break the fast after a long […]

People at a currency exchange in Izmir, Turkey. The Turkish government has a 2026 inflation target of 12 percent

Turkey’s central bank cuts interest rates again

Turkey’s central bank has cut interest rates for the third time since December, citing an easing of inflationary pressures and a cooling of domestic demand as factors in its decision. The bank’s monetary policy committee cut its headline lending rate by 250 basis points on March 6, lowering its interest rate to 42.5 percent from […]

Workers using steam turbines in a factory. Turkey's manufacturing sector improved in February

Turkish inflation eases again, with interest rate cut likely

Turkey’s inflation rate declined again in February, falling below 40 percent for the first time since mid-2023, while an indicator of industrial activity improved. The consumer price index fell to 39.05 percent, according to data issued by state statistics agency Turkstat this week, with a month-on-month price increase of 2.27 percent.  The decline could mean […]

A container vessel at Ambarli Port in Istanbul, Turkey. Import growth outpaced exports growth in January leaving a $7.5bn trade shortfall

Turkey’s economic rebound softened by soaring imports

Turkey’s economy recovered in the fourth quarter of 2024 after two consecutive quarters of contraction.  However, imports soared in January, boding ill for the trade balance, according to data released by state statistics agency Turkstat.  Gross domestic product expanded 3 percent in three months to December 31, helping – when combined with expansion in the […]

Customers use cash dispensers in Istanbul. The Institute of International Finance says 'many emerging markets have experienced a marked deterioration in their debt-carrying capacity'

Turkey, Saudi and other emerging markets take on $4.5trn of debt

Emerging markets took on $4.5 trillion of debt last year, according to the Institute of International Finance, and Saudi Arabia and Turkey were among the biggest borrowers. Global debt increased by nearly $7 trillion to $318 trillion in 2024, the highest figure on record, the Washington-based institute said in a report shared with AGBI. Emerging […]

US senator Chuck Schumer pictured in New York last month speaking to the media about egg prices. Turkey exported 200,000 tonnes of eggs to 55 countries in 2024

Turkey meets US egg demand with increased exports

Turkish producers are redirecting egg exports to the US in response to an outbreak of avian flu which is crippling the US poultry sector.  The increased US sales could mean Gulf countries will shell out more for their breakfast staple. The Turkish government has given egg producers approval to increase US sales, with the packaged […]

A Ciner freighter at anchor near Vancouver. The shipping line operates 24 vessels

Turkey’s Ciner Shipping packs up and moves to Athens

One of Turkey’s largest shipping companies is moving its headquarters to Athens, the latest in a string of Turkish businesses to take advantage of Greece’s EU membership and what they say is a more investment-friendly environment.  Ciner Shipping issued a statement on February 21 saying it was shifting its base from Istanbul. Its Turkish staff […]

Turkish industrial capacity: The food and beverage sector was one of the few to post increased capacity usage

Turkish industrial capacity use falls again

The level of Turkish industrial capacity in use fell in February, continuing a trend of slowing activity in the country’s factories for a third month.  Less than three quarters of Turkey’s industrial capacity was operational in February, according to data issued by the Turkish Central Bank’s statistics unit on February 24. The 74 percent total […]

Cruise ships docked at the busiest Turkish port, Kusadasi. Almost 1 million passengers are expected this year

Turkish cruise industry expects a bumper 2025

Cruise port operator Global Ports Holding is expecting a successful year for passenger numbers in Turkey this year, driven by new winter cruises and disruptions to competing destinations in the eastern Mediterranean. Worth $3 billion in revenue to Turkish port operators in 2023, cruise ship traffic is a vital source of income to Global Ports, […]

Traders and shoppers in the Fatih neighborhood of Istanbul, Turkey. Businesses in Turkey's retail sector are largely optimistic about the future

Confidence builds in Turkish real economy

Turkish businesses are looking forward to better times but are still struggling with present day issues such as low levels of orders and a sluggish general economic environment. The Turkish Central Bank’s latest business tendency statistics and real sector confidence index, issued on February 24, recorded a steady increase in positive sentiment among the country’s […]

Biofuel pellets are made by compressing waste wood from the lumber industry – Turkey can produce almost 2 million tonnes a year

Turkey’s biofuel sector gets fired up on overseas demand

Turkey is poor in oil and gas while its renewable energy sector is heavily reliant on a mix of hydro, wind and solar. But another element is heating up: biofuel – fuel derived directly from biomass, such as wood or plant matter – is gaining interest domestically and creating an export market not available to […]