Current account balance sees 11-month low figure in July

ANKARA-Anadolu Agency

Turkey's current account balance posted a deficit of $683 million, down $1.3 billion from the same month last year, the Turkish Central Bank announced on Sept. 13.

With July figures, the current account deficit saw its eleven-month low.

According to the balance of payments figures released by the bank, the country's 12-month rolling deficit totaled almost $27.8 billion.

According to projections of a group of 17 economists that joined an Anadolu Agency survey last week, July's current account deficit was expected to reach $540 million.

The survey also projected that the end-2021 current account balance will have a $21.3 billion deficit.

In June, the current account posted a $1.1 billion deficit.


The bank said the drop is mainly driven by the net inflow of nearly $2.95 billion in services item, increasing by $2.65 billion compared to July of the previous year.

The goods item posted a $2.98 billion deficit, increasing by $1.02 billion compared to the same month of the previous year.

The gold and energy-excluded current account indicated $2.75 billion surplus which was recorded $1.92 billion surplus in the same month of the previous year, the bank noted.

Travel items under services saw a net inflow of $2.1 billion in July.

The bank also said direct investments recorded a net inflow of $1.03 billion during the month.

According to the country’s medium-term economic program, Turkey's current account deficit to GDP ratio is projected to be 2.2 percent next year, further narrowing to 1.5 percent in 2023 and 1 percent in 2024.

The government is aiming for the GDP to exceed $850 billion in 2022, before hitting $975 billion in 2023 and topping $1 trillion in 2024.