Minister of Treasury and Finance Mehmet Şimşek has announced that they expect this year’s current account deficit to be lower than the Medium Term Program target. Evaluating the February current account balance statistics, Minister Şimşek shared the following statement on his social media account: “In February, the annual current account deficit was 12.8 billion dollars, with a net surplus excluding gold amounting to 1.8 billion dollars. Due to decreasing energy prices, we anticipate that this year’s current account deficit will be lower than our Medium Term Program target. By ensuring that the current account deficit remains at sustainable levels, we will continue to utilize our resources to increase the welfare of our country by reducing the need for external financing. We are also continuing the necessary efforts to limit the impact of increasing protectionist tendencies in global trade on our country and to make the most of possible opportunities. We believe that with our effective trade diplomacy and the dynamism of our exporters, our country will positively differentiate itself in this challenging period.”