Turkey’s current account deficit up again
The Central Bank of Turkey (TCMB) disclosed that the country's current account balance showed a $2.28 billion deficit in February. Last year's current account deficit during the same period was $2.2 billion. For the first two months of the year, the current account deficit totaled $3.8 billion, up 20.3% year on year. The TCMB also indicated that the foreign trade deficit rose 25.1% year on year to $3.47 billion during the January-February 2005 period. Exports rose 25.2% to $10.36 billion, while imports increased 23% to $15.29 billion. Shuttle trade amounted to $540 million in the first two months, up 0.7% year on year. In addition, services posted a surplus of $644 million, up 17.3% year on year.