International credit ratings agency Fitch Ratings has announced that it has affirmed Turkey’s long-term ‘B’ rating while its outlook for the country is negative.
Fitch stated that the rating and the negative outlook reflect weak external finances, growing economic distortions due to increasingly interventionist and unconventional policies, as well as political and geopolitical risks.
According to the report, the country’s annual inflation declined to 55.2 percent in February from a peak of 85.5 percent in October. The agency expects inflation to average 56.5 percent in 2023. Additional lira depreciation expectations remain an upside risk.
Fitch forecasts GDP growth will slow to 2.5 percent in 2023, from 5.6 percent in 2022, with the negative impact of the earthquakes in the southern region of the country on economic activity. Growth is anticipated to increase modestly to three percent in 2024, due to improving external demand and the reconstruction process in the south of the country.
