UPDATE - Turkey's current account posts $151M surplus in May

UPDATES WITH MORE DETAILS

By Muhammed Ali Gurtas

ANKARA (AA) - This May Turkey's current account balance posted a $151 million surplus, improving from a $6.17 billion deficit in the same month last year, the Turkish Central Bank announced.

In balance of payments figures released early Thursday, the bank said that the country's 12-month rolling deficit totaled $2.37 billion.

An Anadolu Agency survey on Monday showed that economists had forecast a surplus of $300 million.

Projections of a group of 14 economists ranged from a $600 million deficit to a $900 million surplus for the fifth month of 2019.

The survey also showed the end-2019 current account balance is expected to show a deficit of $8.1 billion, with estimates ranging from $1.7 billion to $13.5 billion.

"This development in the current account is mainly attributable to $5.85 billion decrease in the goods deficit recording net outflow of $706 million, as well as $594 million increase in services inflow to $2.3 billion," the Central Bank said.

The bank stated that gold and energy excluded current account indicated $3.47 billion surplus, in contrast to $1.2 billion deficit a year ago.

Travel item under services recorded a net inflow of $1.84 billion, increasing by $257 million on a yearly basis, it added.

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 last September, targets a current-account-deficit-to-GDP ratio of 3.3% this year.