Economists expect $2B current account surplus in Turkey

By Murat Aslan

ISTANBUL (AA) - Turkey's current account balance is projected to post a surplus of $2 billion in September, an Anadolu Agency survey found on Monday.

The Turkish Central Bank is set to announce the country's current account balance for September tomorrow, Tuesday, Nov. 12.

The estimates of a group of 14 economists range between $1.7 billion and $2.4 billion.

The end-2019 current account balance is forecast to register a surplus of $200 million.

Turkey's current account balance in August saw a surplus of $2.6 billion, up $554 million year-on-year.

The country's new economic program, unveiled in September, forecast a current-account-surplus-to-GDP ratio of 0.1% for 2019.

In 2018, the current account balance posted a deficit of around $27.6 billion, improving from a nearly $47.5 billion deficit the previous year.

The figure was the lowest since 2009, while Turkey’s highest annual current account deficit over the last decade was seen in 2011, with $74.4 billion.

* Writing and contributions by Tuba Sahin from Ankara