Turkey Posts Current Account Surplus on Tourism, Trade

(Bloomberg) -- Sign up for the New Economy Daily newsletter, follow us @economics and subscribe to our podcast.

Turkey posted a current-account surplus for a second month in September, thanks to a jump in exports and tourism income.

The surplus was $1.65 billion, compared with a revised surplus of $814 million in August and a deficit of $2.34 billion a year earlier, the central bank said on its website on Thursday.

The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey was for a surplus of $1.25 billion. The 12-month rolling shortfall narrowed to $18.4 billion. 

Key Insights

• Balance of trade in services posted a $3.67 billion surplus compared to $1.75 billion a year ago, highlighting the role of tourism and other services in the improvement of Turkey’s foreign balances
• The gap in the trade of goods was $1.02 billion, compared with a shortfall of $3.75 billion in September 2020
• Official reserves rose by $5.59 billion while net portfolio inflows reached $1.22 billion
• Net errors and omission inflows, capital movements categorized as coming from an unknown origin, stood at $1.76 billion, taking the inflows so far this year to $13.5 billion

Get More

• Foreign tourist arrivals rose nearly 60% on an annual basis to 3.51 million in September, according to data published by Culture & Tourism Ministry
• Turkey’s 2021 current account gap is projected at $15 billion-$17 billion, central bank Gov. Sahap Kavcioglu said last month

©2021 Bloomberg L.P.