Turkey: $376M current account deficit expected in June

By Murat Aslan

ISTANBUL (AA) - Economists forecast Turkey's current account balance will post a $376M deficit in June, according to an Anadolu Agency survey on Wednesday.

A group of 17 economists' estimates for the sixth month of 2019 ranged from $150 million to $792 million.

The Central Bank of Turkey will release the monthly balance of payments figures on Friday, Aug. 9.

In May, the current account posted a $151 million surplus, versus a $6.17 billion deficit in the same month last year.

In addition to monthly forecasts, the survey showed the end-2019 current account balance is expected to show a deficit of $7.1 billion, with estimates ranging from $2 billion surplus and $11.5 billion deficit.

Last year, the current account balance posted a deficit of around $27.6 billion, improving from a nearly $47.5 billion deficit in 2017.

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.

The country's new economic program, announced in September 2018, targets a current-account-deficit-to-GDP ratio of 3.3% this year.

* Writing and contributions by Muhammed Ali Gurtas from Ankara