Budget sees surplus, Turkish government to hold cautious stance

ANKARA - Reuters

Turkey’s budget incomes reached 36.9 billion Turkish Liras in November as expenditure rose to 30.5 billion liras, totaling 6.4 billion liras surplus.

The government will maintain its cautious stance on fiscal policy next year, Turkish Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek said in a statement yesterday on November budget data, which reflected a surplus of 6.4 billion Turkish Liras ($3.1 billion). Şimşek said the figures showed a consistent positive trend in fiscal performance.

“Conservative fiscal measures taken since last year, along with recent economic recovery, contributed to the positive performance seen in 2013. We will maintain our cautious stance on financial policy next year. We will continue to create a solid stance and financial area in a period in which downward risks remain important in the global economy,” Şimşek said.

Şimşek said budget incomes reached 36.9 billion liras in November with a 10.7 percent rise the same month a year earlier as expenditure rose to 30.5 billion liras with a 9.1 percent increase in the same period. The budget deficit fell to 1.2 billion liras between January and November from 13.3 billion liras last year, denoting a 12.1 billion-lira decrease, he said. 

The non-interest surplus fell to 8.2 billion liras from 33.4 billion liras in the same period, according to figures from the Finance Ministry.

Budget deficit in line with targets

The budget deficit, which includes figures for December, is expected to reach around 19.4 billion liras, echoing the governments’ medium-term economic outlook targets that had revised it to 14.5 billion liras, analysts say. 

“The November budget showed a strong performance in line with expectations, posting a surplus that reduced the budget deficit to 1.2 billion liras,” Şeker Yatırım economist Elif Gülay Girgin said.

The non-interest surplus is also strong and the 11-month cumulative surplus rose to 46.8 billion liras, she added.

Girgin stated that they expected the budget to post more than 15.5 billion liras in December, above 2012 figures, due to seasonal effects. “With December figures, the budget realization by the end of this year will be parallel with the medium-term economic outlook,” she said.

Girgin added that real shrinking in institutional taxes and 9 percent real rise in non-interest expenditures are noticeable in monthly figures.