Page 27 - TURKRptAug21

5.0 External Sector & Trade
5.1 Balance of payments, current account
5.1.2 Current account dynamics
Turkey’s current account remained in deficit for a 19th straight month in May, coming in at $3.08bn, compared with $1.7bn in April and $4bn a year earlier.
Turkish non-financial companies borrowed a record amount from overseas in May, helping finance the country’s current account gap, Bloomberg noted.
Firms excluding banks borrowed a gross $7.98bn, the highest amount ever, according to balance of payments data going back to 1984. Net borrowing when repayments were deducted stood at $3.57bn, the highest posted since June 2008.
Central bank data put out on July 9 showed how Turkish companies led the financing of the deficit in the current account—the broadest measure of foreign trade in goods and services. Monthly gross borrowing was more than sixfold that of the preceding year’s average, enabling Turkey to boost official reserves by $1.3bn, Bloomberg said.
Corporates’ external borrowing in May was exceptionally high, easing the pressure on FX reserves and the lira’s value against the dollar, Barclays economist Ercan Erguzel wrote in a report published on July 9, adding that the situation “may not prevail” in the second half of the year.
The central bank reportedly declined to comment when asked to identify which firms did the bulk of the borrowing.
27 TURKEY Country Report August 2021 www.intellinews.com