Turkey: November current account deficit 3.67 billion dollars

The current account deficit widened less than expected in November. The current account deficit increased from a revised $352 million deficit in October to $3.67 billion in November. January-November current account deficit was 41.8 billion dollars. Thus, the twelve-month current account deficit rose from $43.4 billion to $44.9 billion in November 2022. In November, the current account excluding energy posted a surplus of 2.8 billion dollars (November 2021: +3.6 billion dollars), while the current account excluding gold and energy posted a surplus of 5.3 billion dollars (November 2021: +2.9 billion dollars).

Although the increase continues compared to November of the previous year, we can say that the momentum in the increase in annualized figures has slowed down. The decline in energy prices is an important factor in this. We have seen this effect in the foreign trade deficit data of November and December. Foreign trade deficit amounted to 7.1 billion dollars. The impact of tourism data also seems to be positive in terms of current account deficit. Looking at November, net inflows from the services balance gave a surplus of 3.7 billion dollars. (tourism revenues: +2.6 billion dollars).

On the financing side, net FDI inflows were $775 million and net portfolio inflows were $538 million in November. While net purchases in equities were 300 million dollars, net sales in debt instruments were 65 million dollars. Concerning bond issuances abroad, the General Government made a net use of USD 1,500 million, while banks and other sectors made net repayments of USD 679 million and USD 180 million, respectively. Domestic deposits of foreign banks recorded a net increase of USD 595 million, with a net increase of USD 569 million in foreign currency and USD 26 million in Turkish lira. Regarding the loans obtained from abroad, the General Government and banks realized net repayments of USD 103 million and USD 1,531 million, respectively, while other sectors realized net utilization of USD 82 million.

Central bank reserves increased by $3.61 billion. It is positive that the accumulation in reserves continues. Net errors and omissions of $899 million in November brought 11-month inflows to $22.3 billion. Net errors and omissions had a decisive impact on this year’s financial statement. Normally, such a high current account deficit is expected to cause a significant pressure on the exchange rate, but the fact that foreign financing is provided somehow prevented this pressure from occurring.

Turkey’s C/A account, million USD, 12 months

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Hibya Haber Ajansı