Turkish Central Bank reserves total $100.7B in July

By Jeyhun Aliyev

ANKARA (AA) – Official reserves of the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (CBRT) totaled $100.7 billion as of July 31 this year, the bank announced on Tuesday.

Total reserve assets rose 2.4 percent, compared to $98.4 billion at the end of June, according to the bank's international reserves and foreign currency liquidity report.

Last month, foreign currency reserves — in convertible foreign currencies — amounted to $76.9 billion, going up 3.9 percent on a monthly basis.

The bank's gold reserves — including gold deposits and, if appropriate, gold swapped — dropped 2.5 percent to $22.3 billion in July compared to the previous month.

On a yearly basis, the bank's official reserves fell 6.4 percent, versus $107.6 billion at the end of July 2017.

Over the last decade, Turkey's official reserve assets rose nearly 45 percent. In mid-December 2013, the bank's total reserves hit their all-time peak at nearly $136 billion, including some $21 billion in gold reserves.

– Liability side

The bank also reported that 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 — showed a monthly fall of 0.6 percent in July, standing at $10.7 billion.

“Of this amount, $6.5 billion belongs to principal repayments and $4.2 billion to interest repayments. Regarding the maturity breakdown of the principal and interest payments, $1 billion is due in one month, $2.5 billion in 2-3 months, $7.2 billion in 4-12 months. ”

The bank noted that contingent short-term net drains on foreign currency amounted to $57.6 billion last month, falling 1.6 percent compared to June.

According to the bank's definition, contingent short-term net drains on foreign currency consist of “collateral guarantees on debt due within one year” and “other contingent liabilities, ” which are the banking sector’s required reserves in blocked accounts in foreign currency and gold, and letters of credit items on the Central Bank’s balance sheet.

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