Turkish PM vows to maintain fiscal discipline

ANKARA - The Associated Press

Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan addresses during the Turkey Investment Advisory Council Meeting in Istanbul May 11. REUTERS Photo

Turkey's prime minister says his country will maintain fiscal discipline to curb its current deficit in an apparent response to concerns raised by the Standard & Poor's ratings agency.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan told a conference in Istanbul on Friday: "We will not give up fiscal discipline." The Central Bank said on its website Friday that the current account deficit in March was $6.1 billion compared to $4.2 billion in February.

S&P earlier this month dropped Turkey's outlook from positive to stable, which means it is no longer considering an upgrade of its credit rating, and cited concerns over government debt. It noted the current account deficit is large and highly dependent on short-term financing from outside Turkey.