Turkish Treasury posts $1.9B cash deficit in June

By Gokhan Ergocun

ISTANBUL (AA) - The Turkish Treasury's cash balance posted a deficit of 11 billion Turkish liras ($1.9 billion) in June, the Treasury and Finance Ministry announced on Friday.

The cash deficit was 26.76 billion Turkish liras ($5.8 billion) in June 2018, according to the ministry's data, released on Friday.

Last month, the Treasury's cash revenues amounted to 56.8 billion Turkish liras (nearly $9.8 billion), up 7.1% on a yearly basis.

Its expenditures -- including interest payments of 4.5 billion Turkish liras ($778 million) -- dropped 14.7% to 69 billion Turkish liras ($11.9 billion), compared to the same month last year.

In June, the Treasury's non-interest expenditures were 64.5 billion Turkish liras ($11.16 billion).

The Treasury received 1.26 billion liras ($217 million) from the privatization or fund income last month -- including transfers by the Turkish Privatization Administration, 4.5G license payments, and land sale revenues.

In June, the cash deficit of $1.9 billion represents the Treasury's cash revenues plus privatization and fund income minus expenditures, including interest payments.

During the first half of this year -- January to June -- the country's revenues and expenditures reached 417.7 billion Turkish liras ($72.26 billion) and 497.96 billion Turkish liras ($86.15 billion), respectively.

The country's cash balance deficit was 77.86 billion Turkish liras ($13.47 billion) during the first six months of the current year.

The U.S. dollar/Turkish lira exchange rate was 5.78 as of the end of last month, and 4.62 as of end of June 2018.

Last month, the Treasury announced that it would repay debt of 51.4 billion Turkish liras ($8.9 billion) in July-September period.

A total of 40.1 billion liras ($6.93 billion) of domestic debt redemption is also projected.