ANKARA: Turkey’s lira slid against the dollar and euro after the current account deficit more than doubled in January, increasing concern about the government’s economic policies.
The lira dropped 0.7 percent to 3.84 to the dollar at 4:31 p.m. in Istanbul. The currency declined 0.6 percent to 4.72 per euro.
Turkey’s current account deficit climbed to $7.1 billion in January from $2.7 billion a year earlier as imports surged 39 percent, the central bank said in a statement on Monday. The rolling 12-month deficit rose to $51.6 billion, or about 5.6 percent of economic output.
Turkey is financing its growing current account gap, the largest in major emerging markets, via short-term inflows into stocks and bonds as foreign investment in the country declines. The government is stimulating economic growth through loan and tax incentives, spurring demand for imports. A sudden outflow of the short-term money, which may be sparked by interest hikes by the U.S. Federal Reserve later this year, could lead to a sudden reversal in economic growth and impact the lira, economists say.
“On the financing side, the fact that half the CAD is funded by hot money is clearly a major concern,” Tim Ash, senior emerging markets strategist at hedge fund BlueBay Asset Management in London, said in e-mailed comments to clients. “The hot money crew continued to fund Turkey’s current account deficit.”
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