Turkey Again Books Wider Current-Account Deficit

By Joshua Kirby

Turkey's current-account deficit widened again, highlighting the continued economic challenges facing the Middle Eastern nation.

The country's balance of payments, which gauges the gap between inflows and outflows, showed a deficit of $5.29 billion in April, widening from $4.43 billion in March, figures from the Turkish central bank showed Monday. It continues a trend of steadily wider deficits beginning from the end of last year, after a tourism boom briefly helped Turkey record rare surpluses in its current account.

Foreign tourism inflows continue to offset headwinds in Turkey's account balance, making up the bulk of a more than $3 billion surplus in services over the month. But strong domestic demand remains a drag on the country's balance, despite weakness in the Turkish lira, with energy imports weighing especially heavily.

Inflation has risen for the last six months in a row in Turkey, forcing the central bank to lift rates again in March in a bid to tame price rises and boost the struggling currency. The bank nevertheless still expects inflation to ease considerably by the end of the year, and economists suggest price rises might indeed have reached a peak.

Write to Joshua Kirby at joshua.kirby@wsj.com; @joshualeokirby

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 10, 2024 03:30 ET (07:30 GMT)

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