Turkish Central Bank reserves rose to $143.6B last week, data shows

By Tuba Ongun

The Turkish Central Bank's official reserve assets rose to $143.6 billion as of May 31, marking their highest level since Dec 22, 2023, according to weekly figures released on Thursday.

Gross reserves increased from $142.2 billion in the previous week, the bank's international reserves and foreign currency liquidity report showed.

Foreign currency reserves -- in convertible foreign currencies -- climbed by $1.14 billion from the prior week to $83.9 billion as of the end of last week.

The bank's gold reserves -- including gold deposits and, if appropriate, gold-swapped -- ticked up by $264 million from May 24 to $59.74 billion on May 31.

Commenting on the figure, Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek said: "Our resilience to external shocks is enhancing. Our reserves and macro-financial stability are strengthening."

Türkiye's net reserves, excluding swaps, turned positive for the first time since March 2020, he said, adding that the figure grew $67 billion in the last two months.

In a bid to further increase our reserves, the government is decisive in achieving a sustainable current account deficit with green transformation, energy efficiency, new industrial policies, and policies to boost direct foreign investments and access to capital-like external resources.