Economy Turkish trade deficit surges 422% in October 2022 By Reuters November 30, 2022 REUTERS/Dado Ruvic Moody's does not expect Egypt's liquidity and external positions to rebound quickly Turkey’s foreign trade deficit surged 421.7 percent year-on-year to $7.87 billion in October, with imports climbing 31.4 percent, data from the Turkish Statistical Institute showed on Tuesday. Imports stood at $29.2 billion, while exports rose three percent to $21.33 billion, the data showed. Under an economic programme unveiled last year, Turkey aims to shift to a current account surplus through stronger exports and low interest rates, despite soaring inflation and a tumbling currency. Soaring global energy and commodity prices have made that target all but unattainable. The deficit in the first ten months of the year climbed 168.3 percent to $91.05 billion, the data showed. However, Turkey’s consumer confidence index rose by 0.6 percent to 76.6 points in November, official data showed, continuing a rebound from a record low of 63.4 in June despite a continuing surge in inflation. Recently, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said he will hold discussions at the next cabinet meeting on adopting heavier measures for supermarkets and stores that charge excessive prices for goods, broadcaster Haberturk reported. He said previous fines were not sufficient to punish such sellers and authorities are following the issue closely.
