By Maria Martinez
Turkey’s economy grew in the third quarter, but at a slower pace than in the previous quarter.
Turkey’s gross domestic product grew 3.9% on year following a revised 7.7% expansion in the second quarter, the country’s statistics office Turkstat said Wednesday.
Economists had expected third-quarter growth to decelerate to 4.7%, according to a FactSet poll.
On the domestic front, household consumption increased 19.9% compared with the same quarter of the previous year and government consumption was up 8.5%, while investment fell 1.3%.
On the external front, exports of goods and services rose 12.6% on year, while imports of goods and services increased 12.2%.
The Turkish central bank reduced its benchmark rate to 9% from 10.5% last Thursday, even as inflation reached its highest level in almost 25 years in October. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan favors lower rates as part of an unorthodox…
