Turkey: Central Bank reserves hit 93.3$B in December

By Yunus Girgin

ANKARA (AA) – The Turkish Central Bank’s reserves amounted to $93.3 billion at the end of December 2020, the bank announced on Thursday.

Total reserve assets rose 12.8% in December from the end of November, according to the bank's international reserves and foreign currency liquidity report.

Foreign currency reserves -- in convertible foreign currencies -- totaled $48.5 billion, up 17.8% compared to the previous month.

In December, the bank’s gold reserves -- including gold deposits and, if appropriate, gold swapped -- increased 8.1% on a monthly basis to $43.2 billion.

Short-term predetermined net drains of the government and the central bank, including foreign currency loans, securities, and foreign exchange deposit liabilities, increased by 2.4% to $28.3 billion, the report said.

Of these, almost $23 billion were in principal repayments and $5.3 billion in interest payments, it said.

Additionally, outstanding foreign exchange and gold liabilities arising from the bank’s financial derivative activities with resident and non-resident banks stood at $61.9 billion, of which $23.4 billion is due in one month, the report said.