UPDATE - Turkish Treasury posts $4.5B cash deficit in December

UPDATE WITH MORE FIGURES

By Tuba Sahin

ANKARA (AA) - The Turkish Treasury's cash balance posted a deficit of 23.7 billion Turkish liras ($4.5 billion) last month, the Treasury and Finance Ministry said on Tuesday.

The Treasury's cash revenues reached 66.1 billion Turkish liras ($12.5 billion), up 20 percent year-on-year in December.

Its expenditures -- including interest payments of 2.59 billion Turkish liras ($490 million) -- amounted to 91 billion Turkish liras ($17.2 billion).

Last month, the Treasury's non-interest expenditures reached 88.4 billion Turkish liras ($16.7 billion) -- a deficit of 22.3 billion Turkish liras ($4.2 billion) -- in the primary balance.

The cash balance represents the Treasury's cash revenues minus expenditures, including interest payments.

The average U.S. dollar/Turkish lira exchange rate in December 2018 was 5.31.

- Treasury sees $14.4B cash deficit in 2018

Last year, the Treasury received 773.8 billion Turkish liras ($158 billion) in cash revenue while expenditures totaled 850.5 billion Turkish liras ($173.6 billion).

Non-interest expenditures stood at 780 billion Turkish liras ($159 billion) -- a deficit of 6.2 billion Turkish liras ($1.3 billion) -- in the primary balance.

In 2018, interest payments were at 70.5 billion Turkish liras ($14.4 billion) while privatization/fund income amounted to 6.4 billion Turkish liras ($1.3 billion).

Last year the cash balance posted a deficit of some 70.4 billion Turkish liras ($14.4 billion).

In 2018, one dollar traded for 4.90 Turkish liras on average.