Last week’s crash of the Turkish lira has forced the country’s economic planners to revise economic targets and reshape macro balances, reported the Anatolia news agency.
However, Finance Minister Sumer Oral said that thanks to its flexible and sound structure, government budget does not need a major modification, although some fine-tuning may be necessary. “Such volatility doesn't inflict much harm on the government budget," he told reporters in Ankara.
Oral said that despite the change in the monetary and exchange rate policies that have been implemented over recent weeks, the government remains committed to economic stabilization. Panic and despair are not necessary, he said.
Oral refused to say whether a revision of the year-end inflation targets to 40-45 percent would be necessary. In the long term, he said, Turkey must reduce inflation into the single digits.
Oral stressed that Turkey would not relinquish the targets of its economic stabilization program, even though many analysts consider it as dead and buried. The program is still valid, he stated, emphasizing that it has neither collapsed nor been given up. — (Albawaba-MEBG)
© 2001 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
