Turkey's economy hits high quarterly growth of 11.1 pct in Q3

ANKARA, Dec. 11 (Xinhua) -- The Turkish economy recorded 11.1 percent year-on-year growth in the third quarter of 2017, hitting highest quarterly growth since 2011, official data showed on Monday.

According to the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat), it is the fastest quarter growth rate in six years since the first quarter of 2011 when 11.4 percent growth was recorded.

Turkey's economy grew 5.2 percent in the first quarter and 5.1 percent in the second quarter.

The growth above forecasts are attributed to domestic demand as well as accelerated investment support by the government and strong contributions from exports, local experts said.

All main sectors increased in the third quarter. The agricultural sector expanded by 2.8 percent, the manufacturing industry by 14.8 percent, the construction sector by 18.7 percent, and the services sector by 20.7 percent, TurkStat added.

Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Simsek said on Monday that economic indicators currently signal a higher than 6.5 percent annual growth.

Simsek said the economy had grown 7.4 percent in the first nine months of the year. He predicted that this growth trend would continue in the coming years.

The Development Minister Lutfi Elvan said annual growth was expected to hit 7 percent this year.

The Turkish lira strengthened after the official data was published on Monday. Enditem