Turkey’s foreign trade deficit shrinks again

ANKARA – Anadolu Agency

July’s deficit this year dropped to $6.46 billion from $9.9 billion compared to the same month of last year, shrinking by 34.8 percent.

Turkey’s foreign trade deficit has dropped for the seventh month in a row, according to figures released by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) on Aug. 29.

July’s deficit this year dropped to $6.46 billion from $9.9 billion compared to the same month of last year, shrinking by 34.8 percent, figures in TurkStat’s report showed. Deficit figures have been receding since late January this year when the Central Bank introduced drastic interest rate rises to prevent the value of the Turkish Lira from sliding against the U.S. dollar.

The institute reported that July exports were at $13.4 billion, a 2.6 percent increase compared to the same month last year, and imports at $19.8 billion, showing a 13.5 percent decrease. In line with the moderate recovery of Europe, exports to the European Union rose to $6 billion with an 11.1 percent increase in July compared to the same month in 2013.

On July 23, Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan said the country had implemented economic measures to combat the effects of the European recovery, which has led to a 10 to 20 percent increase in exports to countries such as Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom.