Turkish economy minister says appreciation of TL causes high current deficit

ANKARA (A.A) - January 11, 2012 - Turkish Economy Minister Zafer Caglayan said on Wednesday that appreciation of Turkish lira (TL) was the main reason of high current account deficit. "Current account deficit was high in first months of 2011. It has several reasons, but the most important one is that former administration of Central Bank did not take necessary measures," Caglayan said at a meeting in Ankara. Caglayan said current account deficit was 5.19 billion U.S. dollars in November 2011 that was one of the lowest figures in 2011. Recalling that current deficit was 7.5 billion U.S. dollars averagely in the first six months of 2011, Caglayan said that it dropped to 5 billion U.S. dollars averagely in the last five months of 2011.