Fitch affirms Turkey's credit rating at 'BB+,' outlook stable

The U.S.-based credit rating agency Fitch Ratings on Friday affirmed Turkey's credit rating at 'BB+' and said that its economic outlook remained stable.

The country's credit rating is a balance of "high external financing vulnerabilities" with "a long commitment to fiscal stability and strong growth performance," the ratings agency said in a statement.

While Turkey's structural indicators are "generally superior" to peer countries, its current account deficit is larger.

"Higher commodity prices have caused a renewed widening of the deficit," Fitch said, adding that "external vulnerabilities are a key credit weakness."

But Turkey's economy rebounded strongly in the first quarter, posting 5 percent growth year-on-year, Fitch said, emphasizing economic growth is expected to remain above average compared with peer countries.

"Turkey is a large and diversified economy with a vibrant private sector," Fitch said. "A potentially smoother political environment, early signs of a recovery in the tourism sector and a stronger external environment should support solid performance over the forecast period," it added.

Fitch forecasts Turkey's growth to average 4.3 percent between 2017 and 2019.
After growing 2.9 percent last year, Fitch said in March it anticipated the Turkish economy to grow by 2.3 percent in 2017 and 1.3 percent in 2018.
The agency also forecasts a 9.5 percent inflation rate for 2017 for Turkey while it expects 7.5 and 7.3 percent for 2018 and 2019, respectively.
Moreover, it predicts that the dollar/Turkish lira exchange rate will stand around 3.60 by the end of the year.