Turkey's economic growth is expected to speed up in the second quarter to help achieve the government's 4 percent target for the full year, Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek said on Tuesday. 'In the period ahead, our strong public finances, banking sector and real sector as well as strong balance sheet structure of households will support growth,' Simsek said in a statement after the release of first quarter growth data. Moreover, Turkish Economy Minister Zafer Caglayan said on Tuesday first-quarter growth was higher than expected but was not high enough to reach a 4 percent annual growth target. Turkey's gross domestic product (GDP) grew 3.0 percent year-on-year in the first quarter, exceeding forecasts, official data showed on Tuesday. Caglayan also said despite the high current account deficit figure in April, he saw no trouble reaching the medium-term forecast for 7.1 percent of GDP.
