UPDATE -Turkey achieves year-end budget deficit target in 2018

UPDATE WITH OFFICIAL FIGURES FROM THE MINISTRY AND BACKGROUND

By Tuba Sahin

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey's budget deficit stood at 72.6 billion Turkish liras ($14.8 billion) in 2018, meeting a year-end target under the country's new economic program, the treasury and finance minister said Tuesday.

"We reached the target of a 1.9 percent budget-deficit-to-gross-domestic-product ratio under the new economic program," Berat Albayrak wrote on Twitter.

The country's budget revenues rose 20.2 percent to reach 757.8 billion liras ($154.6 billion) in January-December 2018, while tax incomes climbed 15.8 percent to 621.3 billion liras ($126.8 billion), Albayrak noted.

He said budget expenditures rose to 830.5 billion liras ($170 billion), up 22.4 percent during the same period.

"Our strong public financial structure and fiscal discipline are among Turkey's most important anchors," Albayrak said.

The budget balance, excluding interest payments, posted a surplus of 1.35 billion Turkish liras (some $274.7 million), according to Treasury and Finance Ministry data.

Data showed that interest payments were nearly 74 billion Turkish liras ($15.1 billion) over the same period.

The average U.S. dollar/Turkish lira exchange rate last year was around 4.90.

According to the new economic program, the budget deficit/GDP ratio target is 1.8 percent this year, 1.9 percent next year, and 1.7 percent in 2021.