Current account balance posts $9.97 billion of deficit in 2024

ISTANBUL

Türkiye posted a current account deficit of $9.97 billion last year, down from a deficit of $39.9 billion in 2023, according to data from the Central Bank on Feb. 13.

Goods recorded a deficit of $56.3 billion in 2024, with exports and imports standing at $257.5 billion and $314 billion, respectively. The gap was $86.3 billion in 2023.

In 2024, the current account deficit was mainly financed through direct investments with a net inflow of $4.7 billion, portfolio investments with a net inflow of $11.7 billion and loans with a net inflow of $26.2 billion, the bank said.

Reserves increased by $0.5 billion on a net basis during 2024, it added. Under the services, net inflow in travel items was $48.93 billion last year, rising from 42.16 billion in 2023, according to a statement from the bank.

In December alone, the current account deficit came in at $4.65 billion, widening from $2.73 billion in November. This was the highest deficit after April’s $4.83 billion.

The December figure was also above the market expectations. Economists polled by state-run Anadolu Agency had forecast a current account deficit of $3.67 billion for December, while their full-year deficit estimate was $9.65 billion.

Excluding gold and energy, the current account balance indicated a net surplus of $2.47 billion in December, said the Central Bank.

In the upcoming period, the Central Bank expects the current account deficit to widen, Governor Fatih Karahan said on Feb. 7, when he presented the bank’s inflation report.

“However, it will be limited on the back of our tight monetary stance. We project that the current account deficit relative to GDP will remain below its historical average in 2025,” Karahan said.