Turkey’s current account deficit widens in January

ANKARA - Anadolu Agency

REUTERS photo

Turkey’s current account deficit stood at $2.76 billion in January, up by almost $561 million year-on-year, a Turkish Central Bank report showed on March 13.        

The figure was largely in line with forecasts made by a group of 17 economists who told state-run Anadolu Agency they predicted an average of $2.8 billion in January’s current account deficit.        

The bank said it was due to an increase in foreign trade deficit and a decrease in revenue from services.        

“This development in the current account is mainly attributable to $420 million increase in the deficit in goods item recording $3.105 million and $232 million decrease in services item recording $578 million,” the bank said in a statement.       
 
Travel items under services recorded a net inflow of $589 million in January, decreasing by $125 million compared with the same month of the previous year, it said.        

Meanwhile, the 12-month rolling deficit rose to $33.16 billion, up from $32.6 billion in December 2016, according to the report.