TURKEY AIMS TO KEEP LONGER TERM INFLATION BELOW 5 PERCENT

"We aim to decrease the inflation rate to single digits, below 5 percent in the medium to longer term," he said.

Turkey's 2011 inflation target stands at 5.5 percent. The consumer inflation rate at the end of 2010 was 6.4 percent. The inflation rate was at 6.31 percent year-on-year in July 2011.

Turkish Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek also said on Thursday that the country's budget deficit will be lower than their target in the forthcoming period. Turkey ended 2010 with a budget deficit equivalent to 3.6 percent of GDP, better than planned, and set a target of a 2.8 percent gap in 2011. Şimşek also said the government is reconsidering a high tax in the communications sector.