Turkey continues to tap foreign inflows to replenish its fiscal buffers, and a surge in foreign exchange reserves has maintained momentum.
The Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey’s (CBRT) net foreign exchange reserves rose by $6.51 billion from the previous week to $40.35 billion in the week ended May 24.
This is the highest level since January 2020 and represents a recovery of $26.34 billion over the past four weeks.
The latest weekly data released on Thursday showed total reserves rose by $3.17 billion from the previous week to $142.24 billion as of May 24.
Gold reserves fell by $1.05 billion, while total foreign exchange reserves increased by $4.22 billion.
Over the past four weeks, total reserves have increased by $18.16 billion.
The increase in foreign exchange reserves began in early May and is blamed on growing interest from foreigners and a decline in demand for foreign currency from local residents.
CBRT’s net foreign exchange reserves, excluding swaps, inched closer to positive territory last week.
This is an improvement from minus $14.1 billion in the week ending May 17 to about minus $6 billion.
On March 29th, it hit an all-time low of minus $65.5 billion.
Bankers expect net reserves, excluding swaps, to turn positive this week for the first time in a long time.
Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek expressed a similar view.
“We are very close. Concerns about our stockpiles will soon be largely off Turkey’s agenda,” Simsek said on Wednesday.
“But we are still at the beginning of the journey and we must not forget that,” he said at a business event in Istanbul.
Daily Saba Newsletter
Stay up to date on what’s happening in Turkey, the region, and the world.
sign up
You can unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
