Turkey CB Reserves Drop

The Turkish Central Bank’s official reserve assets dropped to $110.3 billion in March, the bank announced on Friday, World Bulletin reported. “Official reserve assets recorded $110.3 billion, indicating a 3.7% decrease compared to the previous month,” the bank said in its international reserves and foreign currency liquidity report. Foreign currency reserves also declined 5.2% month-on-month in March to $83.4 billion. The bank’s gold reserves—including gold deposits and, if appropriate, gold swapped—increased 1% to reach $25.3 billion during the same period. At the end of March 2017, the bank’s total reserves were $105.7 billion, including $87.13 billion in foreign currency along with $17.1 billion in gold reserves. Over the last decade, the bank’s official reserve assets soared by nearly 41%, from $76.4 billion at the end of 2007 to last year’s close of some $107.6 billion. Short-term predetermined net drains of the central government and the central bank—foreign currency loans, securities and foreign exchange deposit accounts of residents abroad within the bank—dropped 0.2% last month versus the previous month, reaching $11.8 billion.