Turkish Trade Deficit Widens in November on Commodity Rally

(Bloomberg) -- Turkey's trade deficit widened in November as the rally in commodity prices pushed imports higher, according to preliminary data by the country's Ministry of Trade on Thursday.

The gap expanded 5.4% from year earlier to $5.33 billion last month, while imports rose 26.7% to $26.7 billion and exports surged 33.4% to $21.5 billion.

Early data show weakness in the lira -- which lost more than a quarter of its value last month -- has done little to balance Turkey's foreign trade in goods. 

Below are some of the highlights from trade data: 

• Imports of mineral oils -- an indicator of Turkey's energy bill -- stood at $6.5 billion in November, up 155.5% from a year earlier, highlighting the risks to Turkey's foreign imbalances from rising oil and natural gas prices
• Steel and iron imports rose 75.3% to $2.55 billion during the same period, showing the impact from a broad-based rally in commodity prices as global vaccine roll out fueled world economic growth
• On the other hand, supply bottlenecks slowed growth in some of the key export sectors, such as cars where shipments abroad fell 9% to $2.16 billion

©2021 Bloomberg L.P.