Turkish private sector's external debt down in July

ISTANBUL-Anadolu Agency

The value of the Turkish private sector's outstanding loans received from foreign countries fell in July, the country's Central Bank announced on Sept. 18.

The private sector's short-term external loans -- excluding trade credits -- amounted to $12.9 billion in July, down $2.5 billion versus the end of last year, according to the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (CBRT).

The bank said that 75.3% of all short-term loans consisted of liabilities of financial institutions.

On the long-term side, the private sector's loans from abroad totaled $198.5 billion as of July, down $11.2 billion from the end of 2018.

Financial institution liabilities constituted 47% of long-term external loans, the CBRT noted.

Regarding the currency composition, of the total long-term loans in the amount of $198.5 billion, 60.6% consists of the U.S. dollar, 33.8% consists of euro, 4.1% consists of Turkish lira and 1.5% consists of other currencies.

"And of the total short-term loans in the amount of $12.9 billion, 53.9% consists of the U.S. dollar, 27% consists of euro, 18.9% consists of Turkish lira and 0.2% consist of other currencies," the CBRT said.

The bank added that principal repayments of the private sector’s total outstanding external loans were $57.1 billion for the next 12 months by the end of July.