The Turkish government registered TL 110.9 billion ($16.7 billion) budget deficit from January to August, the Treasury and Finance Ministry announced Tuesday.

The figure was up 63% compared to the same period last year, the ministry data showed.

Increasing 10% on an annual basis, the country's budget revenues hit TL 650.5 billion in the first eight months of the year.

The country’s budget expenditures totaled TL 761.4 billion in January-August, expanding 16% year-on-year.

Ministry data revealed that the budget balance excluding interest payments saw a deficit of TL 19.3 billion.

Tax revenues stood at TL 510.4 billion, while interest payments were TL 91.6 billion in the same period.

Monthly figures

In August, the budget balance posted a deficit of TL 28.2 billion. Turkey's budget revenues reached TL 108.6 billion last month, a 15% rise from the same month last year.

Budget expenditures last month hit TL 80.3 billion, down 14% compared to August 2019.

Excluding interest payments, the central government budget balance saw a gap of TL 40 billion last month.

The average U.S. dollar/Turkish lira exchange rate this August was about 7.27, while $1 traded around TL 6.63 on average in the first eight months of this year.