What Happened in the Markets This Week?

What happened in the markets this week? What important developments did we witness during the week? Here are the details..

1-Turkey Grows More Than Expected in the First Quarter

The Turkish economy exceeded expectations with a growth of 7 percent in the first quarter of the year. According to the data announced by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TURKSTAT), the growth in the first quarter was 1.7 percent compared to the previous quarter.

2-May Inflation Data Announced

In May, consumer prices increased by 16.59 percent compared to the same period of the previous year. According to the data announced by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TURKSTAT), consumer prices increased by 0.89 percent in May compared to the previous month. Core inflation was also 16.99 percent. Producer prices continued to rise in May. In May, the producer price index increased by 38.33 percent compared to the same period of the previous year. On a monthly basis, the increase was 3.92%.

3-Foreign Institutions Evaluated Inflation

Foreign institutions published their evaluation reports after the May inflation data of Turkey has been announced. While Morgan Stanley said that the Central Bank of Turkey has room for interest rate cuts considering the policy rate and inflation, JP Morgan noted that they do not expect a policy change from the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey after the inflation data that was lower than expected in May. Barclays raised its year-end forecast from 13.5 percent to 13.8 percent despite the fact that inflation was below expectations, while Citigroup said that the lower-than-expected inflation did not change the interest rate outlook.

4-USD/TL Broke A New Record

After President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's interest rate statements, the USD/TL rate recorded an all-time high. USD/TL exchange rate forced above 8.80 level in shallow market on Tuesday after Erdogan's statements about interest rates. The exchange rate fell to 8.60 after the statements from the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey. While the Euro/TL exchange rate tested above 10.75 level.

5-US Non-Farm Employment Data Came Below Expectations

The increase in non-farm employment in the US economy was recorded as 559 thousand in May. The expectation of economists was that this data would be 675 thousand. On the other hand, the increase in non-farm employment was revised from 266 thousand to 278 thousand in the previous month.

6-CBRT: The Expectation of Early Relaxation Must Disappear

In the meeting of the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (CBRT) with investors, messages were given that the expectation of early relaxation is not appropriate. At the meeting, CBRT Governor Şahap Kavcıoglu underlined that the expectation for an early loosening in monetary policy should disappear.

7-New Natural Gas Discovered in the Black Sea

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in his statement at the Filyos Port Opening and Natural Gas Operation Facilities Groundbreaking Ceremony, said, "Our Fatih Drilling Ship has made another 135 billion cubic meters of natural gas discovery in the Amasra -1 well in the Sakarya gas field." Erdogan also stated that they are planning to expand into new fields.