What Happened in the Markets This Week?

What happened in the markets this week? What important developments did we witness during the week?

1- Current Account Deficit Is Behind The Forecasts

According to the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (TCMB) balance of payments statistics for March, the current account deficit was recorded as 3.33 billion dollars in March. Economists expected this data to be $ 3.8 billion.

2-Housing Sales Increased in April

According to the data released by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TURKSTAT), house sales in Turkey increased by 124.1 percent in April compared to the same month of the previous year and reached 95,863. Mortgaged house sales across Turkey in April increased 2.5 percent compared to the same month of the previous year and reached 17,514. The share of mortgage sales in total house sales was 18.3 percent. In mortgage sales, Istanbul ranked first with 3 thousand 769 house sales and 21.5 percent share.

3- Unemployment Recorded Limited Decline

Turkish Statistical Institute (TURKSTAT) announced the labor force statistics for March. According to the data, the unemployment rate declined slightly in March to 13.1 percent. The idle labor rate, which is not based on seasonal effects, was calculated as 25.8 percent.

4- Inflation Hits Its Peak in the USA

In the US, consumer prices rose by 4.2 percent in April compared to the same period of the previous year. Economists had expected inflation to be 3.6 percent in April in the country. The data reveal that on an annual basis, inflation in the USA reached the highest level since 2008.

5- Cryptocurrency Exchange Binance Under Investigation

The US Department of Justice and the National Revenue Office started an investigation into the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange Binance. According to a source quoted by a source who spoke to Bloomberg, officials who investigated money laundering and tax crimes in the investigation requested information from people who were familiar with Binance's operations.

6- Erdogan Gave a Message of Controlled Normalization

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan made a statement regarding the anti-perception measures after May 17. Erdogan noted the following: "We are starting to implement our controlled normalization calendar as of Monday. Our intention is to continue to act relatively cautiously until the end of May. We plan to relax the measures significantly in June to make daily life more comfortable. We want to apply the measures we have taken in a flexible manner that will not harm our citizens."

7- Turkey Receives Production License of Sinovac Vaccine

Sinovac CEO Yin Weidong announced that they have given production licenses to five countries, including Turkey, in a statement to Bloomberg. In his speech, Yin stated that they provided enough vaccines to Brazil, Indonesia and Turkey to vaccinate 20 percent of the population, but that was not enough.