Turkey's budget posts $12.3B deficit in Jan-July

By Gokhan Ergocun

ISTANBUL (AA) - Turkey's central government budget balance saw a deficit of around 68.7 billion Turkish liras ($12.3 billion) in the first seven months of 2019, the country’s Treasury and Finance Ministry announced on Thursday.

During January-July period, Turkey's budget revenues totaled 496.4 billion Turkish liras ($88.96 billion), up 24.3% year-on-year.

Budget expenditures rose around 22.7% to reach 565.1 billion Turkish liras ($101.3 billion) -- marking a 68.68 billion liras ($12.3 billion) deficit, in the same period.

Official figures showed that the budget balance -- excluding interest payments -- recorded a narrower deficit of 10.2 billion Turkish liras ($1.8 billion).

Tax revenues of the central government totaled nearly 366 billion liras ($65.6 billion) as interest payments amounted to some 58.46 billion liras ($10.5 billion) in the seven-month period.

On the monthly side, the government budget balance posted a surplus of 9.9 billion Turkish liras ($1.77 billion) in July.

Revenues were 93.43 billion liras ($16.74 billion) and expenditures were 83.53 billion liras ($14.96 billion) in the month.

Last year, Turkey's central government budget balance posted a deficit of 72.6 billion Turkish liras ($14.8 billion), marking a 1.9% budget-deficit-to-GDP ratio.

The government aims to achieve a budget deficit/GDP ratio target of 1.8% this year, 1.9% next year, and 1.7% in 2021.

The U.S. dollar / Turkish lira exchange rate was 5.58 as of end of July.