Total reserves of the Turkish central bank hit a fresh record high in the week ending Dec. 1, touching $140.14 billion (TL 4.05 trillion), according to official data shared Thursday.
The banks’ reserves surged $3.65 billion on a weekly basis, the data showed, topping the earlier record of $136.5 billion in the previous week.
Foreign currency reserves amounted to $93.23 billion after an increase of $2.24 billion over the same period, while gold reserves totaled $46.92 billion, up $1.4 billion.
This was also the 16th weekly increase in a row in gross reserves, which is the longest period of increase since 1987 when data collection began.
The upward trajectory was observed since June after President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan appointed a new economic administration led by respected veteran policymaker Mehmet Şimşek, who returned as treasury and finance minister, and former Wall Street banker Hafize Gaye Erkan, who took the reins of the Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye (CBRT).
Since then, the new administration embarked on a monetary tightening cycle to cool demand and counter persisting inflation.
The bank hiked the key policy rate from 8.5% in June to 40% in its last meeting in November.
Following the shift in the monetary policy after the May vote, investors have been signaling a renewed interest in the major emerging market economy.
Amundi, Europe’s largest asset manager, recently told Reuters it had started dipping its toe back into the Turkish lira. Some large banks, including Deutsche Bank and JPMorgan, recommend that clients reconsider Turkish assets, with the former saying lira-denominated instruments may be one of the best trades among emerging markets in 2024.
The central bank chief Erkan was quoted as saying on Thursday “that the transition to Turkish lira continues in line with the objectives.”
The report from Anadolu Agency (AA) cited Erkan saying that they foresee disinflation in 2024 in line with the path announced in the last Inflation Report, as the cumulative and delayed effects of monetary policy come into play.
Source: Daily Sabah
