Turkish Lira Rises Despite Positive US Data

Despite the positive US data on the labor market, and the advance of the US dollar index, the Turkish lira managed to rise strongly against the dollar after days of decline.

The data released today also indicates that the trade balance deficit widened on an annual basis by 20.2% during the month of May, to record the largest deficit since November. The data indicates a growth in exports compared to imports.

The trade balance deficit increased to $4.13 billion, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute. The deficit declined during the months of March and April. Exports increased annually by 16.6 billion dollars, while imports expanded by 54%, at 20.6 billion dollars. Turkey aspires to export increases to break the current account deficit gap, which expanded to 5.1% of economic output for 2020. The state finances these gaps through tourism, but Coronavirus put pressure on tourism activity around the world, which led to the depreciation of the Turkish lira.