Fitch Revises Turkey’s Outlook to Negative Amid Coup Attempt

The economic outlook for Turkey has been revised to negative from stable amid the complicated political situation in the country following a recent coup attempt, Fitch Ratings agency said in a press release.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — On July 15, an attempted coup took place in Turkey and was suppressed the following day. More than 240 people were killed in the incident and an estimated 2,000 were wounded.

Turkish authorities have already removed thousands of officials from their posts over links to coup perpetrators and to the movement of Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen.

"An unsuccessful coup attempt in July confirms heightened risks to political stability," the release stated on Friday. "Political uncertainty is expected to impact economic performance and poses risks to economic policy."

The agency affirmed Turkey’s long-term financial risk rating at ‘BBB-.

Fitch said those removed include around 70,000 public sector workers across the country. The agency underscored, however, that "overwhelming" public opposition to the coup could lessen political fractures.

However, Fitch said the removal of senior military officials from their posts could undermine Turkey’s ability to address such security challenges as continuous terrorist attacks.

"The attacks are having a material impact on the tourism sector, which directly constitutes around 3 percent of GDP and 13 percent of current external receipts," the agency explained.

Fitch said Turkish growth will likely dip in the near future due to dropping investment. However, the agency expects the country’s GDP to grow at about 3.4 percent in 2016.