Ankara: Turkey's statistics office said yesterday it was adjusting its methodology for calculating gross domestic product, days ahead of a data release expected to show the first economic contraction since 2009.
The TUIK statistics institute said the move aimed in part to bring Turkey more in line with European standards and that it would hold a meeting to explain the details of the changes when it announces third-quarter GDP data on Monday. The economy is expected to have contracted by 0.5 percent in the three months to September as July's failed coup and global uncertainty take their toll, according to a Reuters poll of 18 economists released on Thursday.
It was not immediately clear how TUIK's move, which includes an adjustment to the base year, might affect those expectations.
The institute said in a statement that the aim of the revision was "to reflect improvements in the creation of more rapid and detailed macro-economic indicators" and to "harmonise with international standards."
It said the work also responded to a need to reflect developments in information infrastructure since 1998, the current base year for Turkey's GDP calculations.
The gloomy economic outlook marks a sharp turnaround for Turkey, once considered one of the world's most promising emerging markets thanks to its youthful population and years of rapid growth.
Prime Minister Binali Yildirim on Thursday announced measures meant to boost growth and prop up the lira, which hasfallen to a series of record lows in recent weeks.
