Gold still Turks’ favorite investment

ISTANBUL

Most Turks still prefer to invest in gold than in other financial instruments, a recent survey has shown.

Turks traditionally see the precious metal as the safest bet to protect their savings and make financial gains.

As much as 42.9 percent of Turks say they consider gold as the best investment, according to a study carried out by Areda Survey in May, down from 57.4 percent in April 2021.

Around 45.9 percent of women and 42.2 percent of men said they would invest in gold, the survey showed. Some 50 percent of young people said gold would be their favorite investment.

Following behind at 27.4 percent is real estate, rising from 26.9 percent a year ago. People see real estate as a long-term investment.

A breakdown of age groups shows that 30 percent of young people prefer real estate, followed by people aged 65 and above.

In response to the question “which instrument they would invest,” some 23.7 percent of the participants said they would prefer foreign currencies, which marked a significant increase compared to 8.2 percent in the April 2021 survey.

Deposit accounts, cryptocurrencies and stocks were 3.1 percent, 1.9 percent and 1 percent, respectively.

Turkey’s stock exchange Borsa Istanbul yielded the highest monthly profit at 7.79 percent, CPI-adjusted, in April, while deposit account holders and those who invest in the U.S. dollar lost 5.67 percent and 6.18 percent, respectively, data from the Turkish Statistics Institute (TÜİK) showed earlier this month. Those, who invest in gold, also lost 6.39 percent in real terms.

Consumer prices increased by 7.25 percent in April from the previous month, bringing the annual rise in the consumer price index to 69.97 percent from 61.14 in March.