Balance of Payments - May 2026

In May, the current account posted a deficit of 1.5 billion USD, exceeding market expectations. During the same period last year, the current account deficit was 1.1 billion USD. Rising by 29.3% yoy to 30.7 billion USD during the January-May period, the current account deficit increased to 37.3 billion USD based on 12-month cumulative data. Meanwhile, excluding net gold and energy trade, the current account balance posted a surplus of 3.6 billion USD in May, marking the second consecutive month of surplus.

In May, when the trade deficit narrowed on an annual basis, a sharp decline in net service revenues caused the current account deficit to widen on a yearly basis. Preliminary foreign trade data for June released by the Ministry of Trade also indicated that the trade deficit rose by 26.3% yoy to 10.4 billion USD. Although service revenues are expected to provide more support to the current account balance in the coming months due to seasonal effects, the ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and the trend in energy prices will continue to be decisive factors in terms of their direct and indirect effects on the current account balance.