Turkey’s Current Account Deficit Improved in August Amid Tourism Boom

By Joshua Kirby

Turkey’s current-account deficit narrowed in August as a rising influx of tourists boosted the country’s surplus in services.
The current account–a measure of a country’s transactions with the rest of the world–registered a deficit of $619 million in August compared with $5.53 billion a month prior, data from the Turkish central bank showed Wednesday.

The improved current account was boosted notably by a contribution of $5.75 billion from travel income, the central bank said, as the summer tourism season boomed. This helped the country’s services sector book a surplus of $7.23 billion, rising from a little more than $5 billion in July.
On the other hand, the country’s deficit on goods trade remains high, standing at more than $7 billion.
A weak Turkish lira has steadily pushed up import prices in recent years, widening the trade deficit as well as contributing to rampant inflation within the country. Only once in the last two years, in June, has Turkey booked a surplus in its current account. The central bank has lifted rates in recent months, aiming to put a brake on the decline of the lira, but inflation has so far continued to increase, hitting 61.5% in September.
Write to Joshua Kirby at [email protected]; @joshualeokirby