Newsletters & Press

After depreciating 26% against the dollar in the first 10 months of the year, the Turkish lira apparently appreciated in February, to 6.8977 to $ 1 in the week of February 15, its highest. low since August 5, 2020, an increase of 18% since last November. This is the direct consequence of a stricter monetary policy put in place by the new director of the Turkish Central Bank, who decided, at his meeting on February 18, to keep its main key rate unchanged at 17%. With the volatility of the exchange rate and the rise in the prices of raw materials which have repercussions on food prices, the institute intends to continue applying its restrictive monetary policy, until a lasting stabilization of the price level is obtained.

At an economic level, the industrial production index continued to increase in December 2020, increasing by 1.3% on a monthly basis and 9% on an annual basis. Among industrial sub-sectors, the manufacturing index experienced the largest increase, with 9.5% year-on-year. Over the period Q4 2021, industrial production, corrected for calendar effects and seasonal variations, increased by 10.1% compared to Q4 2020. Industrial production is a key indicator of the economy, considered as a preliminary index of GDP growth.

Finally, concerning the health situation, Turkey is continuing its vaccination campaign against Covid-19: according to the latest figures from the Ministry of Health, as of February 23, 2021, more than 7.3 million people have been inoculated since the start of the campaign launched on January 13, including 1.2 million from the second injection.