IMF says Turkey's current account deficit a risk

WASHINGTON, Aug 6 (Reuters) - Turkey has achieved a remarkable economic transformation in the last 10 years but it still faces risks from a large current account deficit, the International Monetary Fund said on Wednesday.

In a review of the lessons-learned from a trio of IMF standby arrangements that helped pilot Turkey to a period of prolonged growth, the Fund also said that it could continue to support the country's development and that challenges remain.

"Considerable external vulnerabilities remain owing to a large and widening current account deficit," the IMF said in statement. The main reason for the imbalance were strong capital inflows; a good thing reflecting growing investor confidence that had also helped to buoy the Turkish lira, and the high price of oil, the IMF said. (Reporting by Alister Bull, Editing by Andrea Ricci)