Turkey’s merchandise trade deficit increased less than economists expected in February, preliminary data released by the Turkish Statistical Institute showed Friday.
The trade deficit rose to $6.96 billion in February from $6.04 billion a year earlier. Economists had forecast a deficit of $8.8 billion.
Export of goods increased 5.8 percent year-on-year to $12.44 billion during the month. Month-on-month, the seasonally and working-day adjusted exports increased by 6.2 percent.
Imports advanced 9 percent annually to $19.39 billion. Compared to January, external purchases increased by 6.5 percent.
In February, Turkey’s main partner for exports was Germany, followed by Iraq, the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates. The top country for imports was the Russian Federation, followed by Germany, China and the United States of America, data showed.
During the two months ended February, the balance was a deficit of $14.26 billion. Both exports and imports increased by 8.3 percent each compared to the same period a year earlier.
by RTT Staff Writer
For comments and feedback: editorial@rttnews.comEconomic News