medium - term inflation target, we will be giving more weight to decomposing the effects of supply shocks in the upcoming period. before i finish my evaluations on inflation, i would like to make a few notes on the pricing behavior. recently, price increases in certain products have exceeded their historical averages. when we look into the products that made the highest contribution to inflation, we observe that in august, annual price increases in those products exceeded the average price increases of the last 10 years by more than three to four times. although one reason for this situation, as i mentioned before, is developments such as the pandemic - led increases in commodity prices and supply constraints, these factors alone may not fully explain the price increases in some products. however, we consider that such pricing behavior will converge to its pre - pandemic level as the economic and social normalization gains pace in the upcoming period. lastly, when we look into exchange rate developments, we see that the improvement in our reserves is consistent with our forecasts. reserves increased by usd 30 billion from usd 85 - 90 billion to usd 115 - 120 billion. swap agreements, rediscount credits, gold ore purchases and reserve requirement steps have been the primary factors contributing to reserves. distinguished guests, stability to be established in the general price level in turkey will foster macroeconomic stability and financial stability through the fall in country risk premium, acceleration in reverse currency substitution, accelerated accumulation of foreign exchange reserves and perpetual decline in financing costs. this will create a viable setting for investment, production and employment to continue growing in a healthy and sustainable way. i would like to thank you all for your participation.

the recovery in the services and tourism sectors ensures a rebalancing in the composition of demand in the third quarter in terms of goods and services. in fact, sectoral confidence indices also suggest a significant improvement in recent months particularly in the services and retail sectors. when talking about the recent developments, i would like to place a special emphasis on investments. data for the second quarter indicate that investments, particularly in machinery - equipment, contributed significantly to growth. the cbrt ’ s research shows that our firms have a high investment appetite. in the recent surveys, firms operating in all sectors excluding construction have reported that the weight of financial constraints among factors limiting activity / production has declined. we see that the weight of this factor is even below the historical averages currently. moreover, investment and employment tendencies of firms have reached very high levels compared to previous years. we are pleased to see that the improvement in the employment expectation of firms also continues in the third quarter while the investment tendency remains strong across main sectors. we envisage that as the improvement in macro indicators continues in the upcoming period, as the risk premium declines and volatility decreases on the back of improving current account and inflation outlook, the credit channel will function effectively and stabilize the positive outlook regarding the investment appetite. although there seems no obvious problem in accessing credit, high loan rates limit the access to credit. we are closely monitoring the progressive increase in the demand for loans for investment, operating capital and stock enhancement, and the gradual decrease in demand for debt rollover. high - frequency data also signal a recovery in the labor market on the back of the reopening. although employment in the services sector has been recovering more slowly amid pandemic - related restrictions and is still slightly below its prepandemic level, employment growth in the industry and construction sectors as well as the non - farm employment has exceeded pre - pandemic levels. we consider that the services employment will also exceed its pre - pandemic levels in the upcoming period. in the last couple of years, our economy suffered a variety of shocks, with the pandemic in the lead. the central bank has adopted a policy that curbs the lasting effects of these shocks, safeguards domestic and external balances and prioritizes price stability as the ultimate goal. we are closely monitoring the current account and external financing data. currently, the upward trend in exports, the recovery in tourism and the significant decline in gold imports support the ongoing improvement in the external