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ISTANBUL, Oct 31 (Reuters) - Turkey's September trade deficit narrowed 7 percent from a year earlier to $5.042 billion, the national statistics office said on Friday.
September exports rose 42 percent year-on-year to $12.831 billion, while imports climbed 23.6 percent to $17.873 billion, resulting in a trade deficit that was smaller than the $6.1 billion expected by economists.
The trade deficit for the first nine months of the year widened to $58.169 billion, 28.3 percent higher than the same period in 2007.
A large trade deficit is a big concern for Turkey's economy since it leads to a wide current account deficit and financing requirement.
However, economists expect easing oil prices, weak domestic demand, and a depreciating lira currency to erode the trade deficit in 2009. The deficit was $62.8 billion in 2007. (Reporting by Selcuk Gokoluk, editing by Swaha Pattanaik)