Turkey's current account balance posts $1.65B surplus in September

ANKARA

Turkey's current account balance posted a surplus of $1.65 billion in September, bringing the 12-month rolling deficit to $18.4 billion, the Turkish Central Bank revealed on Thursday.

In September 2020, the current account balance posted a $2.3 billion deficit.

This development is mainly driven by the net outflow of $1 billion in goods item – dropping $2.7 billion from September 2020, and the net inflow of $3.7 billion in services item – rising $2 billion, the bank said.

The country's current account balance, excluding gold and energy, posted a surplus of $5.6 billion in the month, up from a $3.2 billion surplus in the same month last year.

The travel item, under services, recorded a net inflow of $3 billion in September.

An Anadolu Agency survey on Friday showed that economists expected a surplus of $1.4 billion for the month.

A group of 16 economists' estimates ranged between a deficit of $700 million and a surplus of $2 billion.

The survey showed the end-2021 current account balance is expected to post a $18 billion deficit.