Türkiye's current account balance turned to a deficit in November, the central bank data showed Friday, after two months of surpluses.
The shortfall of $2.72 billion (TL 81.86 billion) followed surpluses of nearly $1.9 billion and $186 million in September and October, respectively, due to stronger tourism revenues and a narrower trade deficit.
The current account is the most complete measure of trade because it includes investment flows and trade in merchandise and services. A deficit means Türkiye is consuming more from overseas than it is selling abroad.
The deficit for the January-November period stood at $43.6 billion, according to the Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye (CBRT) data.
The annualized gap fell to $49.6 billion from $50.9 billion in October, declining by $10.7 billion from May, Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek said.
"The improvement in the annual current account balance continued in November," Şimşek wrote on social media platform X, formerly Twitter.
"The annual current deficit, which decreased by $10.7 billion compared to May to $49.6 billion, is at the level of $22.5 billion excluding gold," he said.
The fall came as Türkiye embraced more conventional policymaking after President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan appointed a new team of technocrats, including Şimşek, following his reelection in May.
The country's central bank delivered seven consecutive interest rate hikes that took its benchmark one-week repo rate from 8.5% to the current 42.5% to tame inflation, which neared 65% last month.
The policy shift seeks to cap strong domestic demand, one of the main reasons for higher imports, and to boost investments and exports to ensure improvement in the current account balance.
Ankara said in September it expects a deficit of $42.5 billion in 2023 from 2022's $48.8 billion, which was largely driven by energy and gold.
Şimşek said despite the foreign trade deficit being $6 billion below the medium-term program estimate in 2023, they evaluate that the year-end current account deficit will exceed the MTP forecast.
"The weakened service revenues due to geopolitical tensions are effective in this development," he noted.
"The measures we have taken toward economic balancing, normalization in gold imports, and the reduction of external dependency in energy will result in the continued improvement in the current account balance."
The trade deficit, a major component of the current account, declined 32.6% year-over-year in November to $5.92 billion from earlier average levels of around $10 billion.
Excluding gold and energy, the current account showed a surplus of $2.2 billion in November, the central bank data also showed.
The services sector recorded a net surplus of $3 billion in November. During the month, travel items under services saw a net inflow of $2.35 billion.
"Primary income recorded a net outflow of $1,325 million, whereas secondary income indicated a net inflow of $13 million," the bank said.
It added that direct investments in November saw a net inflow of $921 million.
