Current account posts $2.7 bln surplus

ANKARA-Anadolu Agency

Turkey’s current account balance improved in August to post a surplus of $2.6 billion, the Central Bank announced on Oct. 11.

The current account surplus rose $554 million year-on-year, the bank said in a statement.

“This development in the current account is mainly attributable to $848 million increase in the services item recording net inflow of $5.2 billion, as well as $73 million increase in secondary income surplus to $100 million,” it added.

“Our successful performance in the current balance continues,” said Treasury and Finance Minister Berak Albayrak, noting a record surplus in July.

“We will sustain our gains with policies prioritizing export and value added production while making sure that our resources remain within the country,” Albayrak wrote on Twitter after the Central Bank released the current account data.

A poll conducted by Anadolu Agency had shown that economists estimated the current account deficit at $2.76 billion for August.

Exports amounted to $13.44 billion while imports stood at $15.06 billion, leading to a foreign trade deficit of $1.62 billion, down from the previous month’s trade gap of $2.5 billion.

In January-August, the country’s trade deficit was $12.2 billion, much lower than the $40.3 billion of trade shortfall recorded a year earlier.

Travel item under services recorded a net inflow of $4.1 billion in August, increasing by $737 million compared to the same month of the previous year.

Gold and energy excluded current account surplus was $5.7 billion, rising $1.1 billion from August 2018.

The Central Bank reported that direct investments recorded a net inflow of $825 million, decreasing by $20 million compared to the same month of the previous year.

“Portfolio investment recorded a net outflow of $1.34 billion. Non-residents’ equity securities transactions and government domestic debt securities transactions recorded net sales of $512 million and $149 million, respectively.”

In the first eight months of the year, the country’s current account posted a surplus of $1.01 billion versus a deficit of $31.1 billion in the same period of 2018