Current account gap widens in September

In the nine months of the year, the current account gap totaled $31.1 billion, a 27 percent rise from $24.48 billion in the same period last year.

Turkey’s current account deficit widened more than expected to $4.53 billion in September, official data showed yesterday, more than doubling from the same period a year earlier.

The wider deficit in the current account, which measures the flow of goods, services and investments, was driven by an increase in the cost of energy, gold and other imports, reflecting what analysts said was high commodity prices and robust domestic demand.

“Looking ahead, preliminary trade data indicate further widening in the trade deficit in October, which will translate into a higher (current account) deficit,” Deniz Çiçek, an economist at QNB Finansbank, said in a note.

The current account deficit widened to $4.527 billion in September, outstripping the $4.125 billion average estimate in a poll of 13 economists by Reuters. It compared to a deficit of $1.593 billion in September 2016.

For the first nine months of the year, the current account deficit totaled $31.1 billion, a 27 percent increase from $24.48 billion in the same period last year.

Turkey’s economy has recovered from the downturn it suffered after last year’s failed coup - thanks to a series of stimulus measures introduced by the government.

However, investor concerns have helped to heap pressure onto the struggling lira driving up the cost of energy and other imports. Turkey imports almost all of its energy needs.