STORY: Turkish economy grows by 5.7 pct in Q1
SHOOTING TIME: Recent footage
DATELINE: June 1, 2024
LENGTH: 00:01:36
LOCATION: Ankara
CATEGORY: ECONOMY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of an engine factory in Türkiye (courtesy of ihlas news agency)
2. various of textile factories in Türkiye (courtesy of ihlas news agency)
3. various of Türkiye's Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek
4. various of an iron products factory in Türkiye (courtesy of ihlas news agency)
5. various of construction sites in Türkiye (courtesy of Hatay Municipality)

STORYLINE:

The Turkish economy grew 5.7 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2024, slightly above expectations, according to official figures on Friday.

Thus, the Turkish economy has grown for 15 consecutive quarters since the second quarter of 2020, when COVID-19 pandemic measures were implemented, the data released by the Turkish Statistical Institute shows.

Despite the ongoing monetary tightening policy, household consumption accelerated in the run-up to the local elections, going up by 7.3 percent in the first quarter. Government final consumption expenditures increased by 3.9 percent and gross fixed capital formation by 10.3 percent.

"Our economy is moving towards more balanced and sustainable growth with our rational, predictable and rule-based policies," Turkish Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek said on social media platform X on Friday.

The contribution of net external demand to growth rose by 1.6 percentage points after five quarters, he said, adding that the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell to 8.7 percent, the lowest in 11 years.

"We envisage a positive contribution from net external demand to growth this year with more supportive external conditions and moderate domestic demand in the second half," Simsek said.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Ankara.
(XHTV)