Turkey's current account gap falls in January

Turkey's current account deficit fell 88.4 percent in the first month of this year, the country's central bank announced on Monday. 

In January, the current account posted an $813-million deficit, improving from a $7-billion deficit in the same month last year.

An AA survey on Friday showed that economists had forecast a deficit of $800 million. 

Estimations of a group of 16 economists ranged from $600 million to $1.2 billion for the first month of 2019. 

Economy grows

The Turkish economy also grew by 2.6 percent in 2018, the country's statistical authority announced Monday. 

TurkStat noted that gross domestic product (GDP) at current prices totaled some $784 billion.

Last week, a group of 15 economists forecast a 2.5 percent annual growth for the Turkish economy. 

Their forecasts hovered between 1.8 percent, lowest estimate, and 3.3 percent.