Searcher
Ali Batuhan Barlas
Ali Batuhan Barlas
BBVA Research - Principal Economist

Batuhan Barlas works as a Principal Economist at Garanti BBVA since September 2016. His main responsibilities include development and management of macro-econometric models, generating macro-financial forecasts and macroeconomic analysis of Turkey in general.

He received his BA degree in Economics from Bogazici University, Istanbul. He continued his graduate studies in Economics at Bogazici University and the University of Maryland, College Park.

Prior to joining Garanti Research, he worked as a Research Assistant at Bogazici University and Risk Management Specialist at Fibabanka.

Latest publications

After the strong growth performance in 2023 with 4.5% y/y, we nowcast an acceleration in GDP growth rates in 1Q24 with 5.5% annually as of March. We maintain our 2024 GDP growth forecast of 3.5% given the solid performance in 1Q, the pre-election fiscal impulse and expected capital inflows.
We revise our activity impulse report to become a flash release at the start of each month. By the end of January, our GDP nowcast indicators signal a nearly stagnant quarterly GDP growth rate, which corresponds to an annual growth of 3.5%. We keep our 2024 GDP growth forecast at 3.5% after realizing nearly 4.5% in 2023.
Industrial production (IP) fell by 1.4% m/m in seas. and cal. adj. series, while increasing by 0.2% y/y on calendar adjusted terms. GDP growth will likely materialize closer to 4.5% in 2023 but decelerate to 3-3.5% in 2024 led by monetary tightening and poor foreign demand.