Turkey dodged a recession as the economy returned to growth in the last three months of the year, data showed Friday, but its annual growth rate slowed sharply.
The Turkish economy rebounded with 3.8 percent growth in the final quarter of the year compared with the previous three-month period, when it shrank by 2.7 percent on a seasonally and calendar-adjusted basis, according to the Turkish Statistics Office (TUIK).
Gross domestic product (GDP) expanded by 2.9 percent in all of 2016, which is considerably lower than the 6.1 percent growth rate in 2015.
Last year’s growth was nevertheless better than the 2.3 percent consensus forecast of 18 economists surveyed by the state-run Anadolu news agency.
Consumer spending remained strong despite political instability caused by, among other things, the fallout from a failed coup.
An increase in government spending also helped compensate for a nearly 30 percent drop in tourism revenues following a string of terror attacks blamed on religious extremists and Kurdish militants.
The government welcomed the latest figures ahead of a referendum on April 16 on whether to expand the powers of the president and create an executive presidency.
Strong economic growth had been one of the main achievements of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s decade in power as prime minister until 2014.
Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Simsek said a real leap in growth would come on April 17 “because whether or not you want it so, the referendum is seen as a source of uncertainty.”
“Some investors are adopting a ‘wait-and-see’ strategy,” he told the A Haber broadcaster.
The Turkish lira was trading higher at 3.64 to the US dollar after the announcement at 0915 GMT, a rise in the value of 0.48 percent.

Source: Arab News