Turkish Central Bank reserves rise to $75 billion

ANKARA

The gross foreign exchange reserves of the Central Bank increased to $75.4 billion on March 29 from $71.4 billion on March 22, the bank’s weekly data showed on April 4.

The bank’s gold reserves inched down to $20.83 billion from $20.99 billion over the same period.

The Central Bank’s net foreign reserves also increased. They stood at 164.7 billion Turkish Liras ($.29.7 billion) as of March 29, increasing from 142 billion liras ($26.1 billion), Reuters reported.

The bank’s reserves stood at $84.7 billion in March 2018 but declined to $71.98 billion at the end of 2018.

Murat Çetinkaya, the bank’s governor, said last month that the main policy of the Central Bank is to keep the bank reserves strong and further reinforce them.

“Last year, there was some decline in reserves following the financial market volatilities. However, we have witnessed an uptrend since then. We aim to sustain this trend in a robust manner,” Çetinkaya said.

He suggested that it is normal to observe fluctuations in gross reserves from time to time.

“This is not an extraordinary case. For sounder analyses, reserve developments should be monitored in light of medium-term trends,” Çetinkaya added.