Turkiye's current account deficit at $7.1B in January

By Tuba Sahin

ANKARA (AA) – Turkiye’s current account balance registered a $7.1 billion deficit in January, widening by $5.3 billion year-on-year, according to official data released on Friday.

This stemmed from a significant rise in the goods trade deficit, which soared by $6.4 billion to reach $8.3 billion, the Turkish Central Bank said.

The country’s 12-month rolling deficit stood at $20.2 billion this January.

The gold- and energy-excluded current account posted a $1.5 billion surplus, up from a surplus of $1.3 billion in the same month of last year.

A group of 26 economists surveyed by Anadolu Agency this week projected the current account deficit would come in at $6.97 billion in January.

The survey showed the end-2022 current account balance is forecast to see a deficit of $26.52 billion.

In December 2021, the current account had a deficit of $3.84 billion.