Turkey: Gold export story reaches an end

Turkey: Gold export story reaches an end

At USD 7.3 bn, January’s foreign trade deficit was slightly above the market expectations (USD 7.0bn). As a result, 12-month cumulative trade deficit increased to USD 84.2bn in January from USD 84.0bn in December. Similarly, 12-month cumulative non-energy trade deficit increased to USD 31.9bn from USD 31.6bn. On a seasonally adjusted basis, exports and imports increased by 2% m/m and 9% m/m, respectively. Imports excluding gold and energy rose by 6% m/m on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to our calculations. On a 3m/3m basis, imports increased for the first time since August 2012, signalling that the monetary easing of the CBRT has finally reflected on import figures. Based on broad economic categories, imports of consumption goods increased 7.6% y/y, intermediate goods by 3.4% y/y, and capital goods by 8.2% y/y.