Germany will post the world's largest current account surplus in 2019 for the fourth year running, putting pressure on Berlin to help reduce global imbalances and stimulate domestic demand, the Ifo economic institute said on Friday.

The current account surplus, which measures the flow of goods, services and investments, to Germany this year is expected to reach $ 276 billion, said Christian Grim, an economist at Evo.

Japan's surplus is expected to reach $ 188 billion, followed by China with a surplus of $ 182 billion.

In contrast, the United States is expected to post a current account deficit of $ 480 billion, the largest in the world, despite US President Donald Trump's trade war on China and additional tariffs on Chinese products.

The Turkish lira crisis has helped reduce the country's trade deficit (Reuters)

Why Germany excels?
Germany's current account surplus can be attributed mainly to the fact that many German products and services are sold abroad more than Europe's largest economy imports.

A few days ago data from the Federal Statistics Office showed that Germany's exports rose last July by 0.7% against imports falling 1.5%, bringing the trade surplus to 20.2 billion euros ($ 22.3 billion). The rise was in contradiction to estimates by economists who expected it to fall under the impact of a tariff war and ambiguity over Britain's secession from the European Union.

Trade imbalances anger Trump, who has threatened to impose additional tariffs on German carmakers. The European Commission and the International Monetary Fund also criticized the German surplus.

What about Turkey?
Turkey's 12-month combined current account surplus for the second consecutive month in July amounted to $ 4.45 billion, after posting a deficit for nearly 17 years, data from the Turkish central bank revealed on Friday.

The current account balance was supported by increased tourism revenues and shrinking trade deficits.

Turkey's history of current account deficits has long been a concern for investors because it makes the economy dependent on speculative foreign flows to finance the deficit.

But the deficit fell sharply in the wake of the currency crisis, which saw the lira lose nearly 30 percent of its value against the dollar last year.