Turkey's current account deficit drops

The bank said the decrease was due mainly to a $11.26 billion decrease in the country´s foreign trade deficit, compared to the same period last year and almost $1 billion increase in its service sector. “This decrease is mainly accounted for by a decline of $11.268 billion in the foreign trade deficit, which recorded $29.322 billion, as well as an increase of $883 million in the services surplus, reaching $9.296 billion in the first six months,” the Bank said in a statement. Tatiana Lysenko, a director at Standard & Poor's, praised the recovery of Turkey’s current account deficit, largely attributed to strong export performance, but warned the recovery might not be as strong as it seems. “Part of the improvement comes from the significant reduction in non-monetary gold imports,” she said. “The underlying improvement is therefore less significant than headline numbers would suggest. In our view, Turkey’s large current account deficit remains a source of vulnerability.”