Turkey Posts Record Current-Account Surplus After Lira Crash

Dec 11 2018, 12:23 PMDec 11 2018, 1:10 PMDecember 11 2018, 12:23 PMDecember 11 2018, 1:10 PM

(Bloomberg) -- Turkey posted the highest current-account surplus on record, showing how the lira’s slump earlier this year improved the competitiveness of exports while hurting domestic demand for foreign goods.

The country’s surplus in its current account -- the broadest measure of trade and investment -- was $2.77 billion in October, higher than the $2.5 billion median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists. The 12-month rolling deficit was $39.4 billion.

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Net errors and omissions, or capital movement of unknown origin, showed a monthly inflow of $355 million, bringing the 2018 total to $18.4 billion.
Foreign trade excluding gold and energy posted a surplus of $6.17 billion, from a deficit of $466 million a year earlier.
Morgan Stanley said that while a current-account surplus isn’t likely in 2019, it’s possible if Turkey’s economic contraction exceeds the bank’s forecast for a decline of 0.7 percent.