ISTANBUL - Turkey's economy grew by 4.8% in the second quarter, above expectations despite a prolonged monetary tightening effort, official data showed on Monday.

Second-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) grew 1.6% from the previous quarter on a seasonally and calendar-adjusted basis, data from the Turkish Statistical Institute showed.

Economists said the quarter had benefited from having more working days than in the same period the year before, and from last year's low base.

In a Reuters poll, the economy was forecast to have grown by 4.1% in the second quarter and by 2.9% for 2025 as a whole.

The government forecasts 4% growth this year. It is expected to update its forecasts early this month.

Growth in the first quarter was revised up to 2.3% from 2%, the data also showed, while economic expansion was revised up slightly to 3.3% from the previous 3.2% last year.

The institute also published a document along with the data detailing the revision of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) series as part of efforts to align with the European System of National Accounts.

In December, the central bank started an easing cycle after having kept the main policy rate steady for eight months. Inflation has dipped from as high as 75% last year.

The central bank tightened policy in April in a move to ensure stability following market turmoil that erupted over the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, President Tayyip Erdogan's main political rival.

The bank recently returned to policy easing last month with inflation falling to around 33% and said the impact of tight policy can be seen in a slowdown in demand conditions.

(Reporting by Ezgi Erkoyun; Writing by Tuvan Gumrukcu; Editing by Jonathan Spicer and Sharon Singleton)