Türkiye posts current account deficit of $1.46 billion in May

ISTANBUL

Türkiye’s current account posted a deficit of $1.46 billion in May, exceeding market expectations, according to data released on July 13 by the country’s central bank.

Economists had forecast a deficit of around $960 million for the month.

The current account excluding gold and energy recorded a surplus of $3.63 billion, while the goods trade balance posted a deficit of $4.34 billion, the bank said.

On a 12-month rolling basis, the current account deficit reached $37.3 billion in May, with the annualized goods deficit standing at $74.4 billion.

The services balance generated a net surplus of $62.5 billion over the same period, while the primary and secondary income balances posted deficits of $24.1 billion and $1.3 billion, respectively.

In May alone, net services revenues totaled $5.21 billion. Travel services generated a surplus of $3.82 billion, while transportation services contributed $2.24 billion.

The financial account recorded a net direct investment outflow of $455 million in May.

Non-residents made net direct investments of $296 million in Türkiye, while Turkish residents’ external assets increased by $751 million.

Residents purchased $143 million worth of real estate abroad, while non-residents made net property purchases of $184 million in Türkiye.

According to annualized figures, the current account deficit was financed mainly through net inflows of $46.7 billion from loans, $5.3 billion from portfolio investments and $1.8 billion from direct investments.

Currency and deposits, however, had a negative contribution of $18.8 billion, while the Central Bank’s net foreign exchange reserves decreased by $32.3 billion.