Turkey's current account deficit stood at $2.76 billion in January, up by almost $561 million year-on-year, according to a Turkish Central Bank report released yesterday.
The figure was largely in line with forecasts made by a group of economists, who for January 2017, had predicted an average $2.8 billion current account deficit, which in that sense did not came as a shock to markets.
The Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (CBRT) said this was due to an increase in foreign trade deficit and a decrease in revenue from services.
"This development in the current account can mainly be attributed to a $420-million-increase in the deficit in goods item, recording $3.105 million and decrease by $232 million in services item recording $578 million," the CBRT said in the statement.
Travel items under services recorded a net inflow of $589 million in January, a decrease by $125 million, compared to the same month of the previous year, the bank added.
Meanwhile, the 12-month rolling deficit rose to $33.16 billion, up from $32.6 billion in December 2016, according to the report.
The trade deficit, which is the most important item in the current account deficit, is up by $420 million when compared to January 2016. The increase was largely affected by the fact that the increase in exports was surpassed by a surge in imports.
