Turkey's current account posts $2.6B gap in February

ISTANBUL

Turkey's current account balance posted a $2.6 billion gap in February, increasing by $1.23 billion from the same month last year, the Turkish Central Bank announced on Monday.

According to the balance of payments figures released by the bank, the country's 12-month rolling deficit totaled nearly $37.8 billion.

The deterioration was stemmed from a net outflow of $2.06 billion in goods item, up by $122 million year-on-year, and another decrease of 984$ million in services surplus to $494 million, as well as a 390$ million increase in primary income outflow to $1.17 billion.

Gold and energy excluded current account registered $466 million surplus in February, compared to $2.44 billion surplus in the same month of 2020.

Investment income under the primary income account saw a net outflow of $522 million, decreasing by $555 million year-on-year, according to the bank.

Travel item – under services – recorded a net inflow of $393 million, down by $561 million on an annual basis.

The bank also said that secondary income saw a net inflow of $132 million, which was an outflow of $131 million in the same month last year.

An Anadolu Agency survey last week showed that a group of 13 economists' projections ranged from $1.7 billion to $2.7 billion for the current account deficit in February, with the median at $2.27 billion.

The survey also revealed that the end-2021 current account balance was forecast to register a $26.9 billion deficit.

In January, the current account posted a $1.87 billion deficit.