Trade minister vows improvement in current account

ANKARA

The macroeconomic stability will be strengthened in order to attain a permanent improvement in the current account balance, Trade Minister Ömer Bolat has said.

Since June 2023, the annualized foreign trade deficit has been declining each month, while the 12-month rolling current account outlook has been improving, the minister noted in a statement.

The 12-month rolling current account deficit declined from $50.9 billion in October to $49.6 billion in November last year, the latest numbers from the Central Bank showed last week.

The improvement in the current account deficit on an annualized basis is expected to become more evident in the first quarter of 2024, in line with the targets set in the medium-term program, Bolat said.

They continue to work to achieve a permanent improvement in the current account with the support aimed at increasing exports of goods and services and with import policies to protect domestic producers, he added.

“We are determined to move the Turkish economy to a more competitive and strong position with our policies designed within the scope of innovation, production, investment, employment, export and fair distribution.”

The minister noted that the current account deficit shrank by $1.3 billion to $2.7 billion in November last year from the same month of 2022.

The 38.5 percent decline in foreign trade to $4.4 billion played an important role in the decline in the current account deficit, Bolat said, adding that the annualized services revenues reached a record $99.2 billion in November.

The government expects the current account deficit to narrow to $34.7 billion, 3.1 percent of the estimated GDP, in 2024.