The wide deficit, along with double-digit inflation, are major worries for investors. Concerns about the economic outlook have helped push the lira to record lows in recent days. It stood at 4.1479 against the dollar after the data, easing slightly.

The current account deficit was sharply wider than the $2.566 billion in February last year.

A Reuters poll of 12 economists, conducted before the data was released, forecast a 2018 deficit of $51.5 billion, up from $47.17 billion a year earlier. The government's medium-term plan anticipates a $40 billion current account deficit this year, or 4.3 percent of gross domestic product.

Copyright Reuters, 2018