Current account gap shrinks more in April
ANKARA
Turkey’s January-April current account deficit dropped by around half compared to the same period last year thanks to robust trade performance, the Central Bank has announced.As the April gap narrowed to $4.79 billion, the country’s four-month current account deficit was recorded at $16.37 billion, indicating a decrease of $8.28 billion in comparison to the previous year, according to Central Bank data released on June 12.
“This decrease is mainly due to the [drop in the] foreign trade deficit, which was recorded at $17.40 million, a decrease of $8.14 million compared to the first four months of 2013. The services account also indicated a surplus of $3.99 billion, increasing by $621 million,” the Bank stated.
A plunge in gold imports also helped bring down the current account deficit, as Turkey’s gold-for-gas trade with Iran, which consisted of importing large amounts of gold that would be transferred to its gas-rich neighbor, came to a halt.
According to the Central Bank data, non-monetary gold items recorded a net export value of $1.34 billion over the four months, in contrast to the same period of 2013, when there were net imports worth $3.45 billion.