Turkey's foreign trade deficit surged 51.4% year on year to $12.08 billion in February, with imports climbing 10.1%, data from the Turkish Statistical Institute showed on Friday.

Imports stood at $30.71 billion, while exports fell by 6.4% to $18.64 billion, the data showed. Under an economic programme unveiled in 2021, Turkey aims to achieve a current account surplus through stronger exports and low interest rates, despite soaring inflation and a currency that has tumbled in recent years. Its deficit in the first two months of the year climbed 44.1% year on year to $26.33 billion, the data showed.   (Reporting by Ezgi Erkoyun and Canan Sevgili; editing by Jason Neely) kalinemedia.com