Current account expected to post surplus in September: Minister

Provisional foreign trade data suggest that Türkiye is expected to post a current account surplus in September, Trade Minister Ömer Bolat has said.

According to the numbers from the ministry, the foreign trade deficit shrank by 42.4 percent month-on-month, while the annual decline in the trade gap was 48.1 percent to $5 billion, Bolat wrote on the social media platform X on Oct. 12.

“Thus, the current account is expected to post a surplus in September,” he said, without providing an estimate as to what the surplus might be.

The Central Bank reported earlier this week that Türkiye’s current account deficit fell by 88.8 percent in August from the previous month to $619 million. The deficit shrank 77.5 percent compared with August 2022.

Gold and energy excluded the current account indicated net surplus of $6.15 billion, which marked the highest surplus recorded this year, Bolat said.

“The current account surplus in August was due to the 32.8 percent monthly and 26.4 percent annual declines in foreign trade deficit, which was $7.1 billion,” he added.

The 12-month rolling current account deficit also retreated from $59.1 billion to $57 billion in August, the minister noted.

“We will continue our efforts to ensure a permanent improvement in the current account with supports aimed at boosting the export of goods and services as well as the import policies we implement to protect domestic producers,” Bolat said.

The government’s medium-term program forecasts that the current account deficit will decline from an estimated $42.5 billion this year to $34.7 billion next year. The government expects the deficit to shrink further to $31.7 billion in 2025.