Government budget sees $15.3B deficit in 9 months

Turkey's central government budget balance posted a deficit of $15.3 billion in the first nine months of 2019, official figures indicated Tuesday.

The country's budget revenues rose 19.5% to hit TL 653.8 billion year-on-year in the January-September period, the Treasury and Finance Ministry announced.

Turkey's budget expenses were TL 739.6 billion in the nine-month period, up 22.5% versus the same period of 2018.

Excluding interest payments, the budget balance also saw a deficit of TL 4.3 billion in the same period, while the interest expenditures were TL 81.5 billion.

The government's tax incomes soared 5.6% to TL 485.3 billion over the same period.

The U.S. dollar/Turkish lira exchange rate averaged at 5.63 in the first nine months of this year.

Last year, Turkey's central government budget balance showed a deficit of TL 72.6 billion, meeting a year-end target under the country's new economic program announced in September 2018.

The government achieved the target of a 1.9% budget deficit-to-gross domestic product (GDP) ratio in 2018 under the program. The government's year-end budget balance target is minus TL 80.6 billion with TL 880.4 billion revenue and TL 960.97 billion in expenses.