2023-05-02 16:17:00
© Archyde.com. Trucks and shipping containers at Haydarpasa Port in Istanbul, Turkey. Photo from Archyde.com archive.
ANKARA (Archyde.com) – Turkey’s trade deficit increased 43.9 percent year-on-year to 8.85 billion in April, while imports of energy and gold slowed in the same period, the Turkish Trade Ministry reported on Tuesday.
Analysts said that as gold imports fell, gold reserves also declined as the central bank moved to meet domestic demand.
The ministry said in a statement that total exports fell 17.2 percent to $19.315 billion in April, while imports fell 4.5 percent to $28.162 billion.
Energy imports fell 35 percent year-on-year to $5 billion in April, while gold imports reached $1.5 billion in the same period.
Trade Ministry data showed that Turkey imported $5.1 billion worth of gold in January, while gold imports fell to $4.1 billion in February and $1.7 billion in March.
The central bank’s gold reserves fell to $49.3 billion as of April 20, from a peak of $53.4 billion at the end of March.
Turkey previously suspended some gold imports to cushion the economic impact of the earthquakes in February. Bankers say the central bank has met the growing domestic demand for gold, despite import restrictions.
(Prepared by Rehab Alaa for the Arabic Bulletin – Edited by Ayman Saad Muslim)
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