ANKARA
Turkey's current account deficit reached nearly $5 billion in March – up more than1.57 billion from March 2014, the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey said in a statement on Tuesday.
As a result, the 12-month rolling deficit increased to $45,499 million from the deficit of $43,924 million.
The year-on-year increase in the current account deficit is mainly attributable to a $1.5 billion increase in the foreign trade deficit, which stood at $4.8 billion, a $47 million decrease in the services surplus, which reached $1.1 billion and a 50 million increase in the primary income deficit reaching $1.26 billion.
The experts forecast Turkey’s year-end current account deficit to stand at $37 billion. Last year’s deficit stood at $45.7 billion.
Falling oil prices are helping Turkey control its current account deficit as the country is largely dependent on oil imports for its energy needs.
However, oil prices have shown a significant surge in recent weeks. On Wednesday, Brent oil reached $69.59 per barrel but has since dropped 6.5 percent to $65.05 a barrel, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan, who is responsible for economic policy, said on Friday that the future price of oil would determine Turkey's 2015 current account deficit and its inflation outlook.
