According to a report on balance of payments in April, released by the Central Bank of Turkey on Friday, the rise in the current account balance in the fourth month of the year is mainly attributable to a 171.7 percent increase in the foreign trade deficit, to $3.99 billion, in April of this year over the same month of 2009. A 82.7 percent decrease to $102 million in the service sector surplus during the same period also played an important role in this increase, the report read.
The foreign trade deficit was $12.46 billion in the January-April period, up from $2.74 billion in the same period of the previous year. The bank attributed the increase to a 36.6 percent rise in import spending, including gold, to $53.26 billion, despite an 11.3 percent rise in revenue from exports to $35.66 billion, as well as a 21.9 percent jump in revenue from the shuttle trade totaling $1.85 billion.
The first four months of the year saw the service sector generate a surplus of $619 million, down from $1.5 billion in the same period of last year, registering a 58.8 percent decrease, less than the same period of the previous year, when the sector enjoyed a surplus of $911 million. During this period, revenue from the tourism sector fell by 10.5 percent to $2.08 billion. The transportation sector also had a shortfall of $407 million in the January-April period, while this figure was $219 million in the same period last year. The construction sector also suffered a 17.4 percent year-on-year drop in revenue from overseas contracts, earning $266 million in the first four months of the year.
The financial account recorded a net capital inflow of $15.46 billion in the January-April period, in contrast to a net outflow of $1.31 billion in the corresponding period of 2009. During the same period, foreign direct investment (FDI) decreased by 31.1 percent, to reach $2.28 billion. Real estate purchases by foreign interests registered a year-on-year rise of 65.9 percent in the first four months of the year, totaling $768 million, while net loans received from parent companies abroad recorded a net disbursement of $190 million. Turkish citizens’ investments abroad also totaled $533 million in the same period, up from $468 million in the same period of the previous year.
