Turkey’s current account registered a $2.7 billion deficit in April and the gap reached $21.1 billion in the first four months of the year, according to central bank data released Monday, reflecting the growing side effects of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s focus on promoting growth despite runaway inflation. Turkey, many observers fear, might face a formidable tangle of risks by the end of the year should Ankara’s policy remain unchanged and continue to produce similar current account gaps in the coming months.
The widening deficit stems mainly from growing imports, including an energy bill that has swelled to up to $8 billion per month amid global price increases atop the severe depreciation of the Turkish lira. In April, Turkey’s exports were worth some $23 billion, in addition to a net revenue of $1.5 billion from tourism and other hard-currency service revenues, the total of which fell short of covering the $28 billion imports.
