Turkey’s central bank reserves boosted by friendly country support, Erdogan says

The Turkish central bank’s foreign currency reserves are getting stronger as friendly countries are providing support, President Tayyip Erdogan said, broadcaster Haberturk reported on Friday.

The central bank’s reserves have come under pressure from its forex market interventions to support the Turkish lira and to meet government institutions’ forex needs.

“Our central bank reserves started to increase. This enables us to act comfortably in terms of foreign currency reserves. In this regard, many friendly countries are currently extending their necessary support,” Erdogan was quoted as saying.

“Our borrowing from them makes our central bank stronger,” Erdogan also said, according to Haberturk.

The central bank’s net foreign currency reserves recovered from a 20-year-low of $6.1 billion in the first two weeks of August, but posted some declines again towards the end of that month.

The bank’s net international reserves rose some $1.5 billion to $14.1 billion in the week to Sept. 2, based on the latest central bank data.

Ankara has a total $28 billion currency swap deals with the United Arab Emirates, China, Qatar and South Korea. Turkey is also hoping for a swap deal with Saudi Arabia, and has made moves to improve relations with Egypt and Israel.

In comments to reporters on his flight back from a trip to Balkan countries, Erdogan also said companies from Europe and elsewhere will make some $20 billion investment in Turkey.