ULUDAG, Turkey

Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Simsek said on Friday he expected economic growth of 5.5 per cent this year and said Turkey was making strong efforts to bring inflation back down to single digits.

Simsek said in speech that lira weakness was the main reason for inflation and that the current account deficit-to-GDP ratio had exceeded 5.5 per cent and must be brought down to 4 per cent in the period ahead and to 3 per cent in the medium-term.