Türkiye’s current account balance registered its highest surplus in five years in August, while the 12-month rolling gap plunged to its lowest since the end of 2021, official data showed on Friday.
The balance posted a surplus of $4.3 billion in August, the Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye (CBRT) said, compared with a revised surplus of $778 million the previous month.
That marked the highest level since August 2019 and the third straight monthly surplus.
The current account is the most complete measure of trade because it includes investment flows and trade in merchandise and services. A deficit means Türkiye is consuming more from overseas than it is selling abroad.
Excluding gold and energy, the balance registered a net surplus of $9 billion in August, the central bank data showed.
The goods deficit was at $2.9 billion, while services posted net inflows of $8.7 billion; under services, tourism saw a net inflow of $6.8 billion.
Primary income recorded a net outflow of around $1.5 billion and secondary income saw net inflows of $14 million.
Direct investments recorded net inflows of $62 million in August, the data showed.
Gap slips to below 1% of GDP
Between January and August, the current account balance registered a deficit of $9.6 billion
The 12-month rolling gap has maintained a narrowing trend to $11.3 billion, translating into around 0.9% of GDP, from $15.1 billion a month ago.
That marked the lowest annual reading since the end of 2021 and a sharp decline of $44.4 billion since May 2023, said Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek.
Şimşek said portfolio inflows amounted to $24.9 billion in the first eight months, while banks and the real sector posted foreign debt rollover ratios of 167% and 132%, respectively.
“The reduction in the current account deficit and strong external financing is strengthening our macro-financial stability and bolstering the resilience of our economy,” the minister wrote on social media platform X.
Also evaluating the data, Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz said the decrease in the current account deficit is reinforcing macro-financial stability and contributing to the disinflation process.
“With improvements in the trade balance and support from the services sector, the positive trend in the current account balance persisted through August 2024,” Yılmaz wrote on X.
“The positive results we are seeing in macroeconomic and financial indicators reflect the effectiveness of our economic program,” he noted.
“We expect a reduction in the current account deficit, driven by improvements in the trade balance and increasing services revenues, to continue and to comfortably achieve our medium-term program target of 1.7% of national income by the end of 2024.”
