سفير طرابزون
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Türkiye Economy & Business News: March 2026
News period: 1–31 March 2026. Original review date: 8 October 2026.March brought together the results for 2025 and the first readings of economic activity in the new year. Releases covered GDP, trade, prices, industry, retail sales, public finances and the current account, alongside the interest-rate decision, an explanation of liquidity measures and an important statistical revision. The month also included industrial and property-company news, an open-banking update and the announcement of equity-index constituents for the second quarter.
This round-up covers 14 developments published between 1 and 31 March, arranged by release date. Figures for earlier periods, including 2025 growth, January production and February prices, remain attributed to those periods. Corporate developments are dated to their confirmed announcement or implementation. The current-account adjustment is explained as a revision to historical data, so that differences between releases are not mistaken for contradictory reporting. The selection spans a broad range of official releases and events, rather than claiming to cover every Turkish economic story or company disclosure.
The month’s news at a glance| Release date | Development | Reporting period or nature of the news |
|---|---|---|
| 2 March | 2025 economic growth of 3.6% announced | Full-year 2025 and the fourth quarter of 2025 |
| 3 March | Preliminary February trade: exports of USD 21.065 billion | February and January–February 2026; preliminary figures |
| 3 March | February inflation: 31.53% annually and 2.96% monthly | February 2026 prices |
| 6 March | Chemical producer Gentaş Kimya began trading | Listing and first trading on 6 March 2026 |
| 10 March | January industrial-production decline announced | Industrial production in January 2026 |
| 10 March | Property developer Luxera listed on Borsa Istanbul | Listing on 10 March 2026 |
| 11 March | January retail-sales volumes rose 18.8% annually | January 2026 sales volumes |
| 12 March | Policy rate held at 37% | The Monetary Policy Committee’s decision on 12 March 2026 |
| 12 March | Central bank began publishing external-debt statistics | Publication began on 12 March; series revised back to 2005 |
| 12 March | January current-account deficit of USD 6.807 billion | January 2026 balance of payments; 12 March release |
| 16 March | February budget surplus of TL 24.366 billion announced | February and January–February 2026 budgets |
| 17 March | New open-banking features launched | Version 2.0.0 launched on 17 March 2026 |
| 18 March | Policy summary explained liquidity measures and current-account revision | Summary published on 18 March; measures from 2 March and 2025 data |
| 19 March | Second-quarter equity-index changes announced | 19 March decision; effective from 1 April to 30 June 2026 |
Istanbul Financial Center in an archive photograph from September 2023.
1. 2025 economic growth of 3.6% announced — 2 MarchMarch began with the publication of fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 GDP results in a release dated 2 March. The economy grew 3.6% in 2025 in chain-linked volume terms. Fourth-quarter growth was 3.4% compared with the same quarter a year earlier and 0.4% compared with the preceding quarter after seasonal and calendar adjustment. These are results for the previous year, published in March; they do not measure growth during March itself.
Sectoral performance varied. Construction value added rose 10.8%, information and communication 8.0%, and industry 2.9%, while agriculture, forestry and fishing fell 8.8%. Real household consumption increased 4.1% over the year. GDP at current prices totalled TL 63.020906 trillion, with per-capita GDP of USD 18,040 at current prices. That nominal measure differs both from the 3.6% volume-growth rate and from average household income. The figures retain the official measures and distinguish annual from quarterly comparisons.
2. Preliminary February trade: exports of USD 21.065 billion — 3 MarchOn 3 March, the Trade Ministry published preliminary February figures. Exports rose 1.6% year on year to USD 21.065 billion, while imports increased 6.1% to USD 30.271 billion. Total trade reached USD 51.336 billion, up 4.2%. This added a second month to the record of 2026 trade, but describes goods traded in February rather than March exports.
For January–February, exports totalled USD 41.380 billion, down 1.2% from the corresponding period, and imports USD 58.966 billion, up 3.1%. Combined trade was USD 100.346 billion, an increase of 1.3%. February’s export growth therefore coexisted with a decline in exports for the year to date: the percentages use different comparison periods. These are dollar values, rather than real growth rates for production or profits. The figures retain their preliminary status, with any later revisions belonging to their own dated releases.
3. February inflation: 31.53% annually and 2.96% monthly — 3 MarchThe February consumer-price release, published on 3 March, showed a 2.96% monthly increase and 31.53% annual inflation. Prices were 7.95% above December, while the twelve-month average rate was 33.39%. Among the main spending groups, food and non-alcoholic beverages rose 6.89% monthly and 36.44% annually. Monthly increases were 2.58% for transport and 2.40% for housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels.
The special B index, excluding unprocessed food, energy, alcoholic beverages, tobacco and gold, increased 2.16% monthly and 29.91% annually. Of 174 subclasses, prices rose in 142, fell in 27 and were unchanged in 5. This provides a broader picture than the headline alone, without equating any individual group’s movement with the entire index. Although the release appeared in March, the prices measured were February’s; the bulletin scheduled the March reading for publication on 3 April.
4. Chemical producer Gentaş Kimya began trading — 6 MarchBorsa Istanbul confirmed on 6 March that Gentaş Kimya Sanayi ve Ticaret Pazarlama had begun trading, in its announcement of the company’s listing ceremony. The exchange’s speech described an industrial producer supplying several sectors, referring to new facilities, increased production capacity and expanding exports during its growth.
The speech said the initial public offering’s proceeds would support the capital structure, business expansion, entry into new markets, research and development, and innovation. These are intended uses of funds as described in the announcement; a listing ceremony does not establish that every investment mentioned has been completed. The confirmed, dated event is the start of trading. It adds chemical manufacturing to March’s business news without introducing a share price, assuming an investment return or presenting a description given at a listing ceremony as audited financial results.
5. January industrial-production decline announced — 10 MarchTÜİK published January industrial-production results on 10 March. The index fell 1.8% year on year after calendar adjustment and 2.8% month on month after seasonal and calendar adjustment. Both figures were also confirmed in the central bank’s summary published on 18 March.
In the annual breakdown, mining and quarrying fell 2.8% and manufacturing 2.5%, while electricity, gas, steam and air-conditioning supply rose 5.6%. Monthly manufacturing output declined 3.4%, compared with increases of 2.1% in mining and quarrying and 1.8% in the utilities category. The three activities therefore did not move in the same direction. The index measures production volume, and this reading concerns January. An overall industrial decline does not establish an identical fall in every factory, or measure March output. The release adds the production and supply side to the trade and price news published earlier in the month.
6. Property developer Luxera listed on Borsa Istanbul — 10 MarchOn 10 March, Borsa Istanbul published its announcement of the listing of Luxera Gayrimenkul Yatırım Ortaklığı, a developer of residential and commercial property projects. The ceremony’s speech linked the listing to the company’s transformation into a real estate investment trust, or REIT, and to a new phase of growth and portfolio expansion.
The speech said the company would continue developing new projects using the capital raised in its public offering. This describes future financing and delivery plans, rather than the handover of a particular project or completion of a property transaction that day. The source establishes the listing and its date; it does not forecast a share price or guarantee profits. This event brings property development into the corporate round-up alongside chemical manufacturing, while retaining the legal company name needed to identify the relevant disclosures.
7. January retail-sales volumes rose 18.8% annually — 11 MarchThe sales-volume release published on 11 March reported January results. Retail-sales volumes rose 18.8% annually and 2.4% monthly, while the overall trade-sales volume index increased 7.6% annually and 0.1% monthly. The central bank’s summary of 18 March confirmed the monthly readings for both retail and total trade.
Trade and repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles grew 13.6% annually and 3.4% monthly. Wholesale trade increased 1.5% annually but fell 1.6% monthly. These details show how the components differed, rather than reducing all trade to a single percentage. The indices measure volumes after accounting for price changes, rather than nominal lira sales revenue. They also do not measure retailers’ profits or each household’s income. The March news event is the publication of January statistics, a distinction retained alongside the title and date.
The Skyland towers in Istanbul’s Seyrantepe area, in an archive photograph from May 2024.
8. Policy rate held at 37% — 12 MarchOn 12 March, the Monetary Policy Committee kept the one-week repo rate at 37%, the overnight lending rate at 40% and the overnight borrowing rate at 35.5%. Unlike January’s cut, the March decision left all three rates unchanged.
The statement said the underlying inflation trend had been broadly flat in February, while geopolitical developments had increased uncertainty, worsened global risk appetite and pushed up energy prices. It referred to decisions supporting the tight monetary stance, coordinated fiscal measures and monitoring of the effects on inflation through production costs and economic activity.
9. Central bank began publishing external-debt statistics — 12 MarchThe central bank announced that it had begun publishing Türkiye’s external-debt statistics from 12 March, taking over publication from the Treasury and Finance Ministry. The transfer followed joint work to bring data on external liabilities together under one framework.
The change also involved a methodological revision. Debt securities were classified according to the holder’s residence rather than the place of issuance, and valued at market rather than nominal values. The document explained that this aligned the figures with international investment position statistics, with the historical series revised back to 2005.
This is a change in publication responsibility and statistical methodology. The difference between two series does not represent new borrowing that took place on 12 March. The methodological distinction should therefore accompany later comparisons of the debt stock, without treating a historical chart as a monthly financing flow or confusing a stock with payments.
10. January current-account deficit of USD 6.807 billion — 12 MarchIn a release dated 12 March, the Presidency of Strategy and Budget reported January current-account figures: a deficit of USD 6.807 billion and a rolling twelve-month deficit of USD 32.880 billion. Excluding gold and energy, the deficit was USD 1.228 billion.
The release reported net financing inflows of USD 22 million from direct investment, USD 8.392 billion from portfolio investment and USD 11.653 billion from other investment. These are flows under the balance-of-payments classifications. Their combined total is not presented as direct investment, and cannot on its own establish a change in the stock of reserves.
The figures concern January despite their March publication, and are retained as the reading in the dated release. As the month also brought a change in the calculation of interest payments on securities, the 18 March item below explains the revision affecting historical totals for 2025.
11. February budget surplus of TL 24.366 billion announced — 16 MarchThe Treasury and Finance Ministry published February central-government budget results on 16 March. The report’s table recorded expenditure of TL 1.329226 trillion, revenue of TL 1.353593 trillion and a surplus of TL 24.366 billion, compared with a deficit of TL 310.092 billion in February 2025. The primary surplus, before interest expenditure, was TL 208.062 billion.
For January–February 2026, expenditure totalled TL 2.965015 trillion and revenue TL 2.774838 trillion. The combined two-month balance remained in deficit, at TL 190.177 billion, with a primary surplus of TL 449.935 billion. February’s individual surplus therefore differs from the year-to-date result at the end of February.
12. New open-banking features launched — 17 MarchOn 17 March, the central bank announced version 2.0.0 of Data Sharing Services in Payment Services, or DSSP, developed by the Interbank Card Center, BKM. The update expanded account-information services, added card information and transaction records, supported the initiation of scheduled and recurring payment orders, and improved security and integration among participants.
The announcement said the system had reached 16.4 million users, with an average of 12.3 million transactions a day and 53 participants. These figures describe use of the infrastructure at the date of the statement. They do not represent a monetary value for transactions, or a count confined to banks.
13. Policy summary explained liquidity measures and current-account revision — 18 MarchOn 18 March, the central bank published the summary of its 12 March meeting. It explained that one-week repo auctions had been suspended from 2 March, bringing the weighted average funding cost to 40%, the overnight lending rate. It also reported the start of lira-settled forward foreign-exchange sales to support the functioning of the currency market and balance foreign-currency liquidity.
The summary explained a revision to the calculation of interest on portfolio investments, based on securities holders’ residence and applied retrospectively from September 2020. The revision increased the current-account deficit by USD 4.8 billion in 2025. The reported full-year deficit moved from USD 25.2 billion to USD 30.1 billion, and from 1.6% to 1.9% of GDP. The corresponding entry was reflected in net errors and omissions.
The USD 25.2 billion figure in February’s news therefore remains a record of what was published then, while March records its revision. The 40% funding cost also differs from the official 37% policy rate held unchanged at the 12 March meeting.
14. Second-quarter equity-index changes announced — 19 MarchOn 19 March, Borsa Istanbul disclosed its periodic equity-index changes through KAP, covering 1 April–30 June 2026. The review covered the BIST 30, BIST 50 and BIST 100, the BIST 500, and liquidity and sustainability indices. Its attachment listed incoming, outgoing and reserve constituents.
The list showed Vakıflar Bankası (VAKBN) entering the BIST 30 and Ülker (ULKER) leaving. The BIST 100 additions were CVKMD, EUREN, PAHOL, PSGYO and SARKY, with outgoing constituents also specified in the disclosure. Several recently listed companies, including Netcad, Üçay and Z GYO, appeared among the additions to the BIST 500.
The news date is the March decision, while its implementation period begins in April. Entry into an index is not a recommendation to buy or a guarantee of performance. Removal from an index also does not mean that a company has been delisted from trading. The disclosure identifies the constituents of particular indices following their periodic review.
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