Türkiye’s Current Account Deficit Widens to $4.4B in February 2025
CBRT
Türkiye’s current account deficit rose to $4.405 billion in February 2025, up from $3.8 billion in January, according to new data from the Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye (CBRT). The widening gap reflects growing import pressures despite continued support from tourism and transportation revenues.
Core Balance Positive, But External Gap Deepens
Excluding gold and energy, the current account posted a $2.158 billion surplus, highlighting persistent strength in services and non-energy exports. The balance of payments-defined trade deficit, however, stood at $5.73 billion, weighing heavily on the overall figure.
Services Sector Continues to Offset Trade Gap
Türkiye’s net services income in February reached $2.45 billion, driven largely by travel revenues of $2.006 billion and transportation services of $1.167 billion. These gains once again served as a buffer against the widening goods trade deficit.
Portfolio Inflows Outweigh Weak FDI
Net foreign direct investment (FDI) remained limited, while portfolio investments brought in a net inflow of $2.57 billion. Foreign investors purchased $675 million in Turkish government debt securities, indicating renewed international appetite despite heightened domestic political volatility.
Reserve Assets See Major Outflow
The CBRT’s official reserve assets declined by $2.899 billion, marking one of the steepest monthly outflows in recent memory. Additionally, the net errors and omissions account posted a $1.072 billion outflow, signaling continued unidentified capital flight.
On the credit side, banks and the central government repaid over $1 billion, while non-financial sectors recorded a net borrowing of $969 million. Meanwhile, foreign currency deposits by non-residents in Turkish banks dropped by $808 million.
Structural Risks and Energy Costs Resurface
Economist Iris Cibre commented that the 12-month current account deficit has narrowed to $12.8 billion, the lowest level since 2020, yet warned of underlying fragilities. She noted that the recent improvement has weakened, citing a rise in intermediate goods and energy imports.
Cibre emphasized that the external balance improvement, which once stood at $35 billion, has shrunk to $14.2 billion, while the trade deficit widened by $13.5 billion to reach $58.8 billion. She also pointed out the lack of progress in energy imports, which remained elevated at $49.3 billion, driven largely by rising natural gas prices.
Cibre added that gold imports accelerated to multi-month highs, suggesting continued reserve dependency in financing the deficit.
