Türkiye to continue to accumulate reserves, treasury minister says

ISTANBUL

Türkiye will continue to raise its reserves as long as market conditions permit, the Turkish treasury and finance minister said on Thursday.

The country's foreign exchange reserves rose to $115.6 billion as of Aug. 4, up from $98.5 billion from the end of May, Mehmet Simsek tweeted.

Thus, the reserves saw an increase of $17.1 billion during the last two months, and net reserves rose by $20.1 billion to $15.7 billion, he added.

"It is quite significant that the reserve increases continued in August when the exchange rate-protected deposit returns were at record levels," Simsek said.

Earlier in the day, the minister said international credit rating agency Moody's evaluated that Türkiye’s “transition to a rule-based and predictable policy is positive in terms of the country's credit outlook and rating.”

“We are determined to implement rule-based policies in line with international norms in order to ensure macro-financial stability and increase our country's resilience to shocks. We believe this will reflect on our credit rating,” he said.​​​​​​​

Last month, Türkiye's Central Bank raised its policy rate by 250 basis to 17.5%, the highest level since October 2021.

In June, the bank had increased the rate by 650 basis points to 15% in a first hike in 27 months.