ISTANBUL, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- Turkey's economy grew by 6.7 percent in the third quarter amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Turkish Statistical Institute revealed on Monday.

The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at current prices increased by 22.6 percent to 1.4 trillion Turkish liras (197.4 billion U.S. dollars) in July, August, and September when compared to the same period of the previous year, the data noted.

"The GDP grew by 6.7 percent but contracted in terms of the dollar," Mustafa Sonmez, an economist, said in a tweet after the announcement of the institute.

"In the third quarter of 2019, 204 billion dollars of added value was produced while the figure of the same period this year is 197 billion dollars," noted Sonmez.

"This indicates regression of 7 billion dollars and 3.4 percent shrinkage," he pointed out.

The Turkish currency dipped to record lows against the foreign currencies this year, losing over 30 percent of its value against the U.S. currency.

Meanwhile, in the January-October period, Turkey's foreign trade deficit increased by 76.2 percent to 40.3 billion dollars from 22.9 billion, the institute announced.

Exports decreased by 9.1 percent to 135.6 billion dollars in the first ten months of 2020 compared to the same period in 2019, and imports increased by 2.2 percent to 175.9 billion dollars, according to the data.

In mid-November, the government reimposed partial lockdowns on weekends, closed restaurants and cafes, and introduced new working hours for the businesses, suspending all activities of local gaming halls, clubs, tea gardens, as well as football fields across the country to curb the sharp rise of COVID-19 cases.