The pound is falling apart, inflation is ‘flying’ and the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs praises the Turkish economy

LAST UPDATE 21:13

Turkish Economy and Finance Minister Lutfi Elvan praised the Turkish economy as the pound hit another record low against the dollar, as the energy crisis has made everyday life very difficult for Turkish households and at the same time with the sugar crisis coming to the fore in the last hours.

The pound reached the lowest level of 10.21 early November 16, a few days after exceeding the psychological level of 10 per dollar. A few hours later “broke the count” again, falling to 10.45 against the US currency.

The Turkish central bank is expected to hold its next policy meeting on November 18th to reduce interest rates by maybe 200 basis points, despite the spike in inflation, a move that will further push the currency.

Despite the fall of the pound, Elvan expressed satisfaction with the Turkish economy.

Speaking at the Turkish Capital Markets Summit on November 16th, Elvan said that while all countries have gone through difficult times over the past two years, Turkey has shown its difference in output, investment, growth and employment.

Elvan acknowledged that inflation was not at “desired levels”. “The global situation and the domestic outlook show that we need to be extremely careful in the fight against inflation,” he said. “As I have always said, we support a sustainable, balanced, employment-led and competitive growth under the leadership of the private sector,” he said. “As long as we continue to fight inflation with a resolute and healthy understanding, the pound will become stable and our country’s risk premium will decrease.”

Annual inflation in Turkey was 19.89% in October – the highest in almost 2-1 / 2 years, rising from 19.58% in September.

Core inflation, which ignores energy, food and some other goods, fell to 16.82% from almost 17% a month earlier.

Petros Kranias