Turkey’s foreign trade shortfall widened by 54% y/y to stand at $5.76bn in February, national statistics office TUIK reported on March 30.

On March 2, initial data from the customs and trade ministry also pointed to a 54% annual expansion in February’s foreign trade gap.

According to the TUIK data, the foreign trade deficit grew 84% y/y to $14.8bn in January-February after jumping by 109% y/y to stand at a record high of $9.07bn in January.

Exports were up 10% y/y to $25.6bn in the first two months of 2018 but imports rose at a higher pace of 29% y/y to reach $40.5bn.

On March 1, data from the Turkish Exporters’ Assembly (TIM) showed Turkish exports amounted to $25.1bn across January-February, a 16% increase from the same period of last year.

According to TUIK data, Turkey’s top export item in January-February was again motor vehicles, with shipments rising 18% y/y to $4.18bn.

Precious metal imports, mainly gold, rose by 146% y/y to $3.49bn in the first two months of 2018.

Gold imports to Turkey reached a record high of 370 tonnes in 2017, more than trebling from 106.1 tonnes a year earlier. Data on Turkey’s gold imports has been made available since 1995.

Anxieties over Turkey's overheating economy are strengthening with growing imports and widening the current account deficit. Turkey's economic health is patently dangerously reliant on hot inflows of foreign external financing to enable growth. 

Turkey’s current account deficit widened to $7.1bn for the month of January, more than 2.5 times higher than the gap recorded a year ago, according to the latest data from the central bank.

The foreign trade deficit rose by 37% y/y to $77bn in 2017. Exports were up 10% y/y to $157bn but imports rose at the faster pace of 18% y/y to reach $234bn.

The government is forecasting a foreign trade deficit of $68bn for 2018 with exports reaching $169bn and imports amounting to $237bn.