Turkey Current A/C Deficit Widens

Turkey’s current account deficit stood at $2.76 billion in January, up by almost $561 million year-on-year, a Turkish Central Bank report showed on March 13. The figure was largely in line with forecasts made by a group of 17 economists who told state-run Anadolu Agency they predicted an average of $2.8 billion in January’s current account deficit. The bank said it was due to an increase in foreign trade deficit and a decrease in revenue from services. “This development in the current account is mainly attributable to $420 million increase in the deficit in goods item recording $3.105 million and $232 million decrease in services item recording $578 million,” the bank said in a statement.