Turkey faces ‘fresh market concerns’ over economic policy, Moody’s says – The National

Turkey faces ‘fresh market concerns’ over economic policy, Moody’s says – The National

Ratings agency forecasts Turkey's economy will contract 5% in 2020, with the downturn concentrated in the first half

















Closed shops in the Lara district in Antalya last month, which is usually busy with tourists. Tourism generates about 11 per cent of Turkey's GDP, but the industry has been hit by a lack of travellers as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. AFP

















July 2, 2020



July 2, 2020













Concerns over Turkey's policy direction and transparency are disrupting the country's finances, and have led to the depletion of its foreign reserves, increased dollarisation and a renewed fall in the lira's value, according to Moody's Investors Service.



Turkey, the largest economy in the Middle East, has further eased fiscal and monetary policy in response to the Covid-19 outbreak, announcing an initial fiscal package worth about 100 billion Turkish lira (Dh53.5bn, $14.6bn). This is in addition to monetary measures that included the central bank cutting its policy rate by a cumulative 250 basis points to 8.25 per cent in May, as well as open market bond buying.



However, the coronavirus has "exacerbated the sharp