Türkiye’s current account posted a deficit of nearly $4.1 billion in March, slightly exceeding the market expectations, according to official data published on Tuesday.
The shortfall remained almost unchanged compared to the $4.12 billion gap in the same month last year and a revised deficit of $4.3 billion in February, according to the Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye (CBRT).
The data showed wider energy deficit and lower primary income were mainly offset by slightly better core trade balance, narrower gold trade deficit and improving secondary income.
Goods recorded a deficit of $4.84 billion in March, while services registered a net surplus of $2.67 billion in the same period.
Meanwhile, the current account excluding gold and energy posted a net surplus of $1.47 billion in March.
The 12-month rolling current account deficit, which began increasing in November of the previous year, remained flat at around $12.6 billion, or about 1% of GDP.
Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek said gold imports continued to be high due to rising prices amid global uncertainties.
Excluding gold, Şimşek said, the balance recorded an annual surplus of $1.6 billion.
"The resilient structure of our exports, the positive trend in energy prices, and contributions from tourism revenues suggest that the current account deficit will end the year significantly below our Medium-Term Program (MTP) forecast,” the minister wrote on social media platform X.
Şimşek said keeping the deficit at sustainable levels indicates that the downward trend in the ratio of gross external financing needs to national income would continue.
“The declining need for external financing and the resumption of reserve accumulation strengthen macro-financial stability while enhancing the resilience of our economy," he noted.
From January through March, the current account deficit reached $12.28 billion, with goods posting a gap of $15.8 billion and services seeing a surplus of $8 billion.
Looking ahead, several factors are expected to shape the future trajectory of Türkiye's current account balance, according to Dutch banking giant ING.
These include increasing external uncertainty due to trade developments that will impact global growth, capital flows, and commodity prices, and the impact of recent domestic political developments leading to tighter financial conditions, ING analysts said.
