Turkey: $900M current account deficit expected in Feb.

By Burhan Sansarlioglu

ISTANBUL (AA) - Economists forecast Turkey's current account balance will post a $900M deficit in February, according to an Anadolu Agency survey on Tuesday.

A group of 18 economists' estimates for the second month of 2019 ranged from $500 million to $1.5 billion.

The Central Bank of Turkey will release the balance of payments figures on Thursday.

In January, the current account posted an $813 million deficit, down 88.4% compared to a $7 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 $18.2 billion, with estimates ranging from $12 billion to $23.3 billion.

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 percent this year.

* Writing and contributions by Muhammed Ali Gurtas from Ankara