Turkey’s current account deficit widens in February

ANKARA

Turkey’s current account deficit has widened by nearly $1.6 billion year-on-year, reaching nearly $4.15 billion in February, the Central Bank stated on April 11.

The country’s 12-month rolling deficit stood at $53.3 billion in February, according to the Bank’s report on balance of payments.

The increase in the current account deficit is mainly due to an increase of nearly $2 billion in the goods deficit that recorded a net inflow of $4.4 billion in the month, it said.

Travel items, which constitute a major part of the services account, recorded a net inflow of $835 million in July, increasing by $266 million compared to the same month of 2016, the Bank added.

Meanwhile, the country’s current-account deficit in the first two months of this year stood at $11.2 billion, up from $5.3 billion compared to January-February 2017.

The gap was slightly higher than estimates, which were set at around $6.9 billion.

According to the Bank’s report on balance of payments, Turkey’s 12-month rolling deficit stood at nearly $51.6 billion in January.

The country’s current account gap in January 2017 was almost $2.7 billion with a 12-month rolling deficit of $33.58 billion, according to the Central Bank’s revised data.