Turkey: $2.76B current account surplus expected in Aug.

By Murat Aslan

ISTANBUL (AA) - Economists forecast Turkey's current account balance will post a $2.76 billion surplus in August, according to an Anadolu Agency survey on Thursday.

A group of 14 economists' surplus estimates for the eighth month of this year ranged from $2.1 billion to $3.4 billion.

The Central Bank of Turkey will release the monthly balance of payments figures on Friday, Oct. 11.

In July, the current account posted a $1.16 billion surplus, versus a $2.18 billion deficit in the same month last year.

In addition to monthly forecasts, the survey showed the end-2019 current account balance is expected to show a deficit of $700 million, with estimates ranging from a $2 billion surplus to a $6 billion deficit.

Last year, the current account balance posted a deficit of around $27.6 billion, improving from a nearly $47.5 billion deficit in 2017.

The figure was the lowest since 2009, while Turkey’s highest annual current account deficit over the last decade was seen in 2011, with $74.4 billion.

The country's new economy program, announced in September, expects a current-account-surplus-to-GDP ratio of 0.1% this year. The program targets a current-account-deficit-to-GDP ratio of 1.2% next year and 0.8% in 2021.

* Writing and contributions by Muhammed Ali Gurtas from Ankara