Turkey: Treasury posts $1.4B cash deficit in May

By Aysu Bicer

ANKARA (AA) – The Turkish Treasury's cash balance this May posted a deficit of 9.7 billion Turkish liras (about $1.4 billion), the Treasury and Finance Ministry said Friday.

Cash revenues of the Treasury totaled 75.2 billion Turkish liras ($11 billion) last month, up 14.3% from 2019.

Its expenditures, including interest payments of around 9 billion liras ($1.3 billion), hit some 85.3 billion liras ($12.5 billion).

Non-interest expenditures amounted to 76.2 billion liras ($11.2 billion), driving a 1 billion lira ($147 million) deficit in the primary balance.

The Treasury received 300 million liras ($44 million) from privatization or fund income in May – including transfers by the Turkish Privatization Administration, 4.5G license payments, and land sale revenues.

Last month, the cash deficit of $1.4 billion represented the Treasury's cash revenues plus privatization and fund income minus expenditures, including interest payments.

The US dollar/Turkish lira exchange rate was around 6.82 at the end of May.