Turkey’s trade balance reports deficit again
The decline in exports led
Turkey's trade balance to report a shortfall again in July.
Turkey's State Institute of Statistics (DIE) disclosed that the country's foreign trade deficit rose 31.8 percent year on year to $4.086 billion in July.
Consequently,
Turkey posted a total trade deficit of $23.9 billion for the first seven months of the year, up 23.3 percent year on year.
Exports fell 4 percent year on year to $5.41 billion in July and imports continued their growth, rising 8.7 percent to $9.49 billion.
Export growth lost momentum in July due to weak demand from overseas and increasing competitive pressures in the international markets. Under these circumstances, the slowdown in productivity increases and the appreciation of the Turkish currency cannot help the exporters, who are trying to improve their competitiveness.
The current trend is expected to continue for the rest of the year. Year-end estimates show that the foreign trade deficit could reach $43 billion and the current account deficit could rise to $21 billion.