(MENAFN- AzerNews) The trade deficit amounted to $4.5 billion in March. Decreasingby 13% on a monthly basis, the trade deficit witnessed asignificant reduction from $57 billion to $31.2 billion over thepast 10 months, marking a 45.2% decrease. Notably, the 'net errorsand omissions' category, representing uncertain outbound moneyflows, stood at $9.557 billion in March, compared to $4.8 billionin February.

According to the payment balance data released by the CentralBank of the Republic of Turkey, the current account deficitdecreased by 13.4% in March, dropping from $5.2 billion to $4.5billion. Excluding gold and energy, Turkey recorded a surplus of$782 million in the current account.

Dropping from $57 billion to $31 billion

The annualised current account deficit, which peaked at $57billion in May 2023, declined by $25.8 billion in subsequentmonths, reaching $31.2 billion as of March 2024. During the sameperiod, the annualised trade deficit decreased by $30.4 billion, the current account deficit decreased by 45.2%compared to May 2023, largely due to the impact of tradepolicies.

$14.3 Billion Uncertain Money Outflow in Two Months

Defined as the trade deficit in the balance of payments, thetrade deficit stood at $5.193 billion in March. During this period,service-related inflows amounted to $2.241 billion, while netincome from travel reached $2.104 billion. A net outflow of $1.604billion was recorded in the primary income balance item, and $12million in the secondary income balance item. The 'net errors andomissions' category recorded a deficit of $9.56 billion in March,compared to $4.85 billion in the previous month.

Measures Yield Results

Commenting on the figures, Minister of Trade Ömer Bolat stated,"The decline in the trade deficit is accompanied by an increase inservice exports. Service revenues reached a record $103.2 billionon an annualised basis in March. Travel revenues surpassed $50billion. A significant reduction in the current account deficit hasbeen achieved with the implementation of measures aimed atincreasing goods and service exports and reducing imports."

Economic Recovery to Continue This Year

Minister Bolat evaluated the balance of payments statistics,stating, "Positive developments in the trade balance contribute tomore balanced economic growth on the one hand and strengthenmacroeconomic stability by improving the current account balance onthe other. It is expected that the trend of increasing exports anddecreasing imports will continue throughout 2024, contributingpositively to the current account balance and economic growth."

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