Business · Economy · 1 hr ago
Şimşek says Türkiye’s current account deficit should remain manageable
Türkiye’s finance minister expects the current account deficit to stay manageable, helped by goods exports and services revenues.
Central Bank data showed a $4.05 billion surplus in August, but the rolling 12-month deficit widened to $42.1 billion from $41.5 billion in July.
In August, services brought in $9.7 billion net, offsetting some of the $3.75 billion goods deficit; travel receipts made up $7.3 billion of the services total.
Şimşek said Türkiye had spent $1.1 trillion on energy imports over 26 years, making reduced reliance on imported energy important for resilience to global price shocks.
The government plans to expand market access, raise the value of exports and improve competitiveness in services such as health tourism, software and engineering.
The government’s program projects a $47.5 billion deficit in 2026, falling to $38.5 billion in 2027.
Mehmet Şimşek said Türkiye’s current account deficit was expected to remain manageable, supported by goods exports and services revenues.
Central Bank data showed an August current account surplus of $4.05 billion, while the rolling 12-month deficit widened to $42.1 billion.
The deficit for January-August was $31.5 billion, up from $19.7 billion in the same period of 2025.
Şimşek said reducing reliance on imported energy would strengthen resilience to global price shocks and help improve the current account balance.
The government’s 2026 forecast is a deficit of $47.5 billion, or 2.6 percent of GDP.
- Who
- Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek.
- What
- He said Türkiye’s current account deficit should remain manageable.
- When
- Şimşek made the comments on Oct. 13.
- Where
- Ankara; he also posted his comments on X.
- Why
- Goods export growth and resilient services revenues are expected to support the balance, while reduced dependence on imported energy could improve it.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Türkiye’s current account deficit totaled $31.5 billion, compared with $19.7 billion in the same period of 2025.
The current account recorded a surplus of $4.05 billion, while the rolling 12-month deficit reached $42.1 billion.
Şimşek said the current account deficit was expected to remain manageable.
- August current account
- $4.05 billion surplus
- Rolling 12-month deficit
- $42.1 billion in August, up from $41.5 billion in July
- January-August deficit
- $31.5 billion, compared with $19.7 billion in the same period of 2025
- 2026 government forecast
- $47.5 billion, or 2.6 percent of GDP
- 2027 government forecast
- $38.5 billion, or 1.9 percent of GDP
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What people are saying
We expect measures aimed at reducing dependence on imported energy to strengthen our resilience against global price shocks over the medium and long term, while also contributing to an improvement in the current account balance.