Turkey's current account deficit up again

Turkey’s current account deficit up again

The Central Bank of Turkey (TCMB) disclosed that the country's current account deficit rose 17.6% year on year to $2.6 billion in March. For the first quarter of the year, the current account deficit totaled $6.3 billion, up 17.5% year on year. The TCMB also indicated that the foreign trade deficit rose 22.4% year on year to $6.2 billion during the January-March 2005 period. Exports rose 26.4% to $17.06 billion in the first quarter, while imports increased 22.9% to $25.7 billion. Shuttle trade amounted to $713 million in the first three months, down 18.7% year on year. On the other hand, services posted a surplus of $1.2 billion, up 27.8% year on year.