Türkiye recorded a current account surplus for the fourth consecutive month in October, beating expectations on the back of strong tourism revenues, official data showed on Friday.
The October surplus came in at $457 million (TL 19.51 billion), said the Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye (CBRT). That compares to a roughly $1.8 billion surplus a year ago.
From January through October, the current account balance registered a deficit of $14.54 billion, the data showed. The 12-month rolling gap stood at $22 billion, or approximately 1.6% of gross domestic product (GDP).
Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek said the annual shortfall remained at "sustainable" levels, adding that the gold-excluded balance had improved significantly during the government's medium-term program.
The CBRT data showed the trade deficit reached nearly $6 billion in October, lifting the annualized gap to $67.3 billion.
"Gold, whose price has increased and which plays an important role in savings preferences, contributed to the wider trade deficit," Şimşek wrote on social media.
Excluding gold, the current account posted a $3.2 billion surplus in October, and the annual deficit stood at $2.6 billion.
Şimşek said favorable energy prices and strong export performance were expected to continue supporting the external balance, adding that structural reforms would be maintained to ensure gains become permanent.
Trade Minister Ömer Bolat said the October surplus marked the fourth straight month of positive current account readings between July and October, driven by rising goods and services exports as well as robust tourism and transport revenues.
Bolat added that weak global demand, trade tensions and geopolitical risks had not derailed Türkiye's external performance, which he described as "promising and supportive of macroeconomic stability."
Friday's data showed net inflows from the services balance were $7.59 billion in October, driven mainly by $5.86 billion in travel-related net revenues.
"A further increase in the services income, driven by growing transportation and tourism revenues, limited the decline in the current account surplus," analysts at the Dutch financial giant ING said.
The CBRT data also showed $838 million in net outflows from direct investment and $1.02 billion in net outflows from portfolio investments.
Reserve assets fell by $1.61 billion, while the net errors and omissions item posted a $3.15 billion deficit in October and $15.6 billion over the January-October period.
Under the government's medium-term program, the current account deficit is projected to narrow to 1.4% of GDP as of the end of this year.
