Current account deficit seen at $376 mln

ISTANBUL

Economists forecast Turkey’s current account balance will post a $376M deficit in June, according to an Anadolu Agency survey.

A group of 17 economists’ estimates for the sixth month of 2019 ranged from $150 million to $792 million.

The Central Bank of Turkey will release the monthly balance of payments figures on Aug. 9.

In May, the current account posted a $151 million surplus, versus a $6.17 billion deficit in the same month last year.

In addition to monthly forecasts, the survey showed the end-2019 current account balance is expected to show a deficit of $7.1 billion, with estimates ranging from $2 billion surplus and $11.5 billion deficit.

Last year, the current account balance posted a deficit of around $27.6 billion, improving from a nearly $47.5 billion deficit in 2017.

The figure was the lowest since 2009, while Turkey’s highest annual current account deficit over the last decade was seen in 2011, with $74.4 billion.

The country’s new economic program, announced in September 2018, targets a current-account-deficit-to-GDP ratio of 3.3 percent this year.

According to the program, the country’s current account shortfall will decline to $23.5 billion or 2.3 percent of national income in 2020.

The government expects the current account deficit to inch up to $24.1 billion in 2021, which corresponds to 2.6 percent of GDP.