Turkey's C/A deficit seen $3.8bn in March
- Turkey's import-reliant economy, worth $717 billion in 2020, has been prone to big trade deficits and a boom-bust growth cycle that was exacerbated by last year's pandemic.
- The median estimate in a Reuters poll of 10 economists showed a deficit of $3.8 billion in March, with estimates ranging between deficits of $3.5 billion and $4.3 billion.
ANKARA: Turkey's current account is expected to record a deficit of nearly $3.8 billion in March, a Reuters poll showed on Thursday, while the annual deficit for 2021 is seen narrowing due to higher exports and the return of tourism revenue.
Turkey's import-reliant economy, worth $717 billion in 2020, has been prone to big trade deficits and a boom-bust growth cycle that was exacerbated by last year's pandemic.
The current account recorded a deficit of $36.72 billion in 2020 due mostly to a sharp rise in the trade deficit and plunging tourism revenues due to coronavirus fallout.
The median estimate in a Reuters poll of 10 economists showed a deficit of $3.8 billion in March, with estimates ranging between deficits of $3.5 billion and $4.3 billion.
A major component of the current account, the trade deficit narrowed 14.9% year-on-year to $4.65 billion in March, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute.
An uptick in tourism revenue and exports are expected to narrow the deficit in 2021 as a whole compared to last year. The median estimate for the full-year deficit was $24.5 billion, in a range of $10 billion to $32 billion.
Turkey's 12-month current account ended 2019 in surplus for the first time since 2001, though the monthly reading dipped back towards the end of the year as the economy recovered from a recession brought on by a 2018 currency crisis.
The central bank is scheduled to announce the March current account data at 0700 GMT on May 11.
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