Turkish Central Bank reserves reach record $130 billion

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News

Turkey’s Central Bank Gov. Erdem Başçı. DHA Photo

The Turkish Central Bank’s reserves surpassed $130 billion, marking a record, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced.

“I’m announcing for the first time that our Central Bank’s reserves broke a record and reached $130 billion,” he said during his speech at an expanded meeting of provincial chairs of his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).

The reserves, which were $127 billion on April 5, jumped by 3.2 billion in a week and logged at $130.2 billion as of April 12.

The Central Bank implemented an aggressive U.S. dollar purchasing policy last year to defend the lira against foreign currencies.