Minister Şimşek: Current account deficit will fall by year-end

Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek stated that the annual current account deficit rose slightly to 31.5 billion dollars in April due to the foreign trade deficit, which increased due to the holiday effect, and said, "We anticipate that the current account deficit will hover in the 24-27 billion dollar range for the remainder of the year and will materialize well below the Medium-Term Program (MTP) forecast of 34.7 billion dollars by the end of the year."

HOLIDAY EFFECT ON FOREIGN TRADE DEFICIT

Evaluating the April balance of payments on his social media account, Şimşek said, "The annual current account deficit rose slightly to 31.5 billion dollars in April due to the foreign trade deficit, which increased due to the holiday effect."

The Treasury and Finance Minister highlighted that there was a net outflow of 1.5 billion dollars in portfolio investments in the first 4 months of last year, while there was a net inflow of 5.8 billion dollars in the same period this year, and noted the following:

"The annual current account deficit rose slightly to 31.5 billion dollars in April due to the foreign trade deficit, which increased due to the holiday effect. The positive trend in external financing inflows continued. 

There was a net outflow of 1.5 billion dollars in portfolio investments in the first four months of last year, while there was a net inflow of 5.8 billion dollars in the same period this year. 

External debt rollover ratios, including medium-long term bonds, rose from 90 percent to 158 percent for the banking sector and from 72 percent to 116 percent for the non-bank private sector in the same period. With the steps we have taken within the scope of our program, we also expect an increase in international direct investments. 

We anticipate that the current account deficit will hover in the 24-27 billion dollar range for the remainder of the year and will materialize well below the MTP forecast of 34.7 billion dollars by the end of the year."

News Source: 12punto