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Turkey Posts Tenth Straight Current-Account Deficit in September

Turkey Posts Tenth Straight Current-Account Deficit in September

Turkey’s current account remained in deficit for a 10th month amid a deterioration in trade balance and tourism.

The current-account balance -- the broadest measure of trade in goods and services -- posted a $2.36 billion gap in September. The median of 14 estimates in a Bloomberg survey was for a shortfall of $2.63 billion.

The deficit narrowed from a revised $4.32 billion in August. The 12-month rolling deficit reached $27.5 billion from $22.3 billion in the previous month.

Key Insights

  • Official reserves fell by $3.63 billion as government-owned banks sold dollars to support the Turkish currency, which weakened 4.8% against the dollar in the month, making it the worst-performing emerging markets currency
  • Interventions via state lenders continued at a time of volatile capital flows. Non-residents sold net $322 million of Turkish stocks and were net buyers of $424 million of government bonds
  • Net errors and omissions, or capital movements of unknown origin, showed a monthly outflow of $67 million, taking the outflow in the first nine months of the year to $10.2 billion

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  • Data last month showed the trade gap more than doubled in September as imports rose faster than exports. Foreign tourist arrivals decreased 59%

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.