Treasury posts cash balance deficit in February

According to data released by the Treasury and Finance Ministry, the treasury cash balance posted a deficit of 198 billion Turkish Liras ($6.2 billion) in February.

Cash revenues rose from 208 billion liras in February 2023 to 563 billion liras last month, while expenditures leaped 100 percent to 761 billion liras.

Interest expenditure rose 74 percent year-on-year to 54.6 billion liras. Non-interest expenditures climbed 103 percent to 706.4 billion liras, the data showed.

Consequently, the cash budget produced a primary deficit of 143.8 billion liras, up 3 percent compared to the deficit recorded in February last year.

The cash deficit in February shrank from 207 billion in January, when the primary deficit was 100 billion liras.

In the first two months of 2024, cash revenues amounted to 1.2 trillion liras, while cash expenditures stood at 1.6 trillion liras.

The cash balance posted a deficit of 405.4 billion liras and the primary deficit was 244 billion liras.

In the medium-term program, the government forecast that the central government deficit will be 2.65 trillion liras this year or 6.4 percent of GDP. According to government estimates, the deficit will shrink to 3 percent and 2.5 percent of national income in 2025 and 2026, respectively.