Current account gap at $14.9 bln in 2021

ANKARA

Turkey’s current account balance posted a $3.84 billion deficit in December 2021, up $401 million year on year, according to data released by the Turkish Central Bank on Feb. 11.

The country’s 12-month rolling deficit totaled $14.9 billion.

The gold- and energy-excluded current account posted a $2.27 billion surplus compared to a $700 million surplus in December 2020.

In November 2021, the current account posted a $2.68 billion deficit.

Turkey posted a current account surplus of $3.15 billion in October 2021, $1.67 billion in September 2021 and $893 million in August. In July 2021, the current account gap was $514 million.

According to the medium-term economic program, Turkey’s current account deficit to GDP ratio is projected to be 2.2 percent this year. The government is aiming for the GDP to exceed $850 billion in 2022.

The Turkish economy is expected to post a current account surplus this year, Central Bank Governor Şahap Kavcıoğlu said in an inflation report presentation on Jan. 27.