UPDATE - Türkiye sees current account surplus of $5.45B in August

UPDATES WITH COMMENTS FROM TURKISH TREASURY AND FINANCE MINISTER, REVISES SPOT

By Gokhan Ergocun

ISTANBUL (AA) - Türkiye's current account balance posted a surplus of $5.45 billion in August, the Turkish Central Bank announced on Monday.

The surplus followed another surplus of $1.77 billion in July, while an Anadolu survey had expected a surplus of $5.47 billion for the month of August.

The current account excluding gold and energy indicated a net surplus of $10 billion, while goods recorded a deficit of $2.8 billion, the bank noted.

In August, net inflows from services totaled $9.5 billion, with transportation and travel services generating net revenues of $2.77 billion and $7.66 billion, respectively.

The January-August balance posted a $15.85 billion deficit, while the goods deficit was $44.53 billion.

During the same period, services had a net surplus of $41.23 billion, while primary and secondary income had net deficits of $122 billion and $0.49 billion, respectively.

Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek said that the current account surplus of $5.45 billion was the highest monthly figure in Türkiye’s history, adding: “This improvement in the current account deficit is reducing our country's external financing needs.”

The annual current account deficit had thus declined to $18.3 billion, representing an improvement of $37.6 billion compared to May 2023, the minister said on Turkish social media platform NSosyal.

“Indeed, we project that the gross external financing need, which stood at 23% of national income in June 2023, will decline to approximately 17% by 2025,” he said.

“Thanks to the decreasing foreign exchange needs, increased access to external financing, and our high reserves, our macro-financial resilience is strengthening,” Simsek added.