Turkey Current Account Gap Continues to Shrink on Tourism

(Bloomberg) -- Turkey’s current account deficit narrowed sharply in July thanks to a jump in tourism income.

The gap was $683 million in July, down from $1.12 billion in June and $1.99 billion a year earlier, the Turkish central bank said on its website on Monday.

The deficit was in line with expectations in a Bloomberg survey, where the median estimate was for a shortfall of $0.53 billion. The 12-month rolling shortfall narrowed to $27.8 billion. 

Key Insights

• Official reserves rose by $6.7 billion in July from a month earlier as net portfolio inflows reached $1.93 billion and foreign direct investment stood at $1.03 billion
• Net errors and omissions, capital movements categorized as coming from an unknown origin, stood at $2.52 billion, taking the inflows so far this year to $8.02 billion
• Balance of trade in services posted a $2.95 billion surplus, from $295 million last year, highlighting the role of recovery in tourism and other services in the improvement in Turkey’s foreign imbalances

Get More

• Foreign tourist arrivals rose to 4.36 million in July, compared with less than a million in the same month a year earlier, according to data published by Culture & Tourism Ministry

©2021 Bloomberg L.P.