Central Bank of Azerbaijan forecasts current account surplus to decline to 15% of GDP in 2023

BAKU. Sept 20 (Interfax) - The Central Bank of Azerbaijan forecasts that the country's current account surplus should decline to 15% of GDP in 2023, the regulator said in a statement.

"The current account surplus of Azerbaijan's balance of payments totaled around $5.2 billion in the first half of 2023, [a drop of 50% year-on-year], or 14.5% of GDP. According to the baseline scenario, the current account surplus should be 15% of GDP in 2023," the Central Bank said.

As previously reported, the current account surplus of Azerbaijan's balance of payments reached an all-time high of $23.478 billion in 2022, or 23.5% of GDP, amid high oil and gas prices. The current account surplus surged 2.8-fold year-on-year in 2022.