Turkish foreign trade deficit widens 8.7 percent in February

Turkey’s foreign trade deficit grew by an annual 8.7 percent in February, the Turkish Statistical Institute said.

The deficit increased to $3.3 billion during the month, the institute said on its website on Wednesday. Exports rose by an annual 9.6 percent to $16 billion. Imports climbed by 9.4 percent to $19.3 billion.

Turkey is looking to exports to close a gap in the current account, which widened sharply last year after the authorities engineered a borrowing boom that increased demand for imports. The larger current account deficit pressured the value of the lira, which dropped to a record low against the dollar in November.

Exports covered 82.9 percent of imports in February compared with 82.8 percent in the same month of last year, the institute said.

In the first two months of the year, exports rose by 5.9 percent to $31 billion, outpacing a 1.4 percent increase in imports to $37.4 billion, it said.