ISTANBUL (Turkey), June 30 (SeeNews) – Turkey’s trade deficit decreased by 24.9% year-on-year to $31.61 billion (23.15 billion euro) in the five months through May, the country’s statistical institute said Monday.
Exports rose 7.4% on the year to $67.39 billion and imports decreased by 5.6% to $99 billion in the January-May period, the institute said in a statement.
In May alone, Turkey’s trade deficit declined by 28.7% year-on-year to $7.1 billion as exports increased 3.6% to $13.75 billion and imports decreased 10.3% to $20.86 billion.
Germany was Turkey’s biggest export market in May, followed by Iraq, the UK and Italy. China was the biggest importer in Turkey, followed by Russia, Germany and the U.S.
The recovery in the European Union continues to support export growth, while the decline in imports is amplified by the high base effect emanating from gold, Erste Group Research said in a short note on Turkey’s foreign trade figures on Monday.
“In light of the fresh data, we calculate that the C/A deficit could narrow to $3.6bn in May from $7.6bn a year ago, lowering the 12-month rolling C/A deficit to $52.8bn. Sizeable gold imports (USD5.8bn) during the three-month period from May to July last year have provided room for a further visible decline in the external deficit, along with the ongoing strength in exports”, said Erste analysts.
($ = 0.732 euro)
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