Turkish Central Bank int'l reserves at $92.1B in March

ANKARA

The Turkish Central Bank's official reserves stood at $92.1 billion as of the end of March, the bank announced Tuesday.

The March figures showed total reserve assets fell 14.5% from previous month.

Foreign currency reserves -- in convertible foreign currencies -- were down 21.9% to $59.2 billion, while gold reserves increased by 3.3% to $31.4 billion during the same period.

In February, the bank's official reserves posted a 5.1% increase to $107.7 billion, with foreign currency reserves up 3.2% to $75.8 billion.

Liability side

Short-term predetermined net drains of the central government and Central Bank -- foreign currency loans, securities, and foreign exchange deposit liabilities -- posted a 23.4% monthly increase in March, reaching $22.4 billion, the bank noted.

Of this amount, $17.4 billion were in principal repayments and $5 billion in interest repayments, it said.

Additionally, outstanding FX and gold liabilities arising from the bank’s financial derivative activities with resident and non-resident banks recorded $30.9 billion, of which $16.3 billion is due in one month.

The bank also said the contingent short-term net drains on foreign currency last month totaled $32.7 billion, down 11.1% from previous month.