Türkiye posts larger-than-expected account surplus in September

Türkiye’s current account swung back to surplus in September after running a deficit for two months, as the narrowing trade shortfall reflects onto the country’s external finances, the official data showed on Monday.

The balance posted a $1.88 billion (TL 53.7 billion) surplus in September, the country’s central bank said.

The gap shifted from an upwardly revised $357 million deficit in August and $3.02 billion in September 2022, the data from the Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye (CBRT) showed.

The figure came in higher than market expectations. The median estimate in the survey of analysts of Bloomberg was $1.4 billion.

The gold- and energy-excluded current account recorded a $7.12-billion surplus in the month, the bank said.

The goods deficit amounted to $3.66 billion in September, while the services sector saw a net surplus of $6.25 billion in the month. Under the services sector, travel had a net inflow of $5.03 billion in September.

Official reserves recorded a $7.66 billion increase in September, the data showed.

In January-September, the current account balance ran a $40.84 billion deficit, widening from $38.21 billion in the same period last year.

As outlined in its new medium-term program, the government forecasts a year-end gap of $42.5 billion or 4% of gross domestic product (GDP) before it narrows to 3.1% in 2024.