By Muhammed Ali Gurtas
ANKARA (AA) – Official reserves of the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (CBRT) totaled $107.3 billion as of May 31 this year, the bank announced on Thursday.
Total reserve assets fell 4.2 percent, compared to $112 billion at the end of April, according to the bank's international reserves and foreign currency liquidity report.
Last month, foreign currency reserves — in convertible foreign currencies — amounted to $81.3 billion, going down 4.7 percent on a monthly basis.
The bank's gold reserves — including gold deposits and, if appropriate, gold swapped — dropped 2.4 percent to $24.5 billion in May compared to the previous month.
On a yearly basis, the bank's official reserves surged 1.7 percent, versus $105.4 billion at the end of May 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 1.8 percent in May, standing at $10.8 billion.
“Of this amount, $6.6 billion belongs to principal repayments and $4.2 billion to interest repayments, ” the bank said. “Regarding the maturity breakdown of the principal and interest payments, $1 billion is due in one month, $0.8 billion in 2-3 months, and $9 billion in 4-12 months. ”
The bank noted that contingent short-term net drains on foreign currency amounted to $62.4 billion last month, falling 4.1 percent compared to April.
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.