Turkey sold, swapped gold in part to hold domestic price down

Turkey's $8 Billion Gold Drawdown on Iran War Hits Bullion By Kerim Karakaya, Jack Ryan, and Beril Akman Bloomberg News Thursday, March 26, 2026 Turkey’s central bank sold and swapped about 60 tons of gold, worth more than $8 billion, in two weeks after the start of the war in Iran, adding to downward pressure on bullion prices. Turkish gold reserves show a decline of 6 tons in the week of March 13 and another 52.4 tons in the week of March 20, marking a sharp drawdown in reserves, according to the latest data published by the central bank.  ... Dispatch continues below ... ... ADVERTISEMENT ... Bullion Star Opens in the U.S., Selling and Vaulting Gold and Silver Bullion Star is now open in the United States, offering gold and silver bullion at extremely competitive prices with free delivery. Bullion Star also offers customers a year of free vault storage along with free delivery as well as storage in its secure precious metals vault in Dallas, Texas. Storing precious metals is challenging. Homeowner's insurance seldom covers precious metals, and safe deposit boxes offered by banks are neither insured nor covered by the government deposit insurance. Bullion Star's vault is an independently run, Class III UL-rated vault with uncompromising surveillance and round-the-clock security. With Bullion Star you can transact and store your metals securely and confidentially. Your bullion is fully insured against all risks at full replacement value. Bullion Star uses five audit methods to verify the existence and correctness of your stored bullion. For more information, please visit: https://www.bullionstar.us/ Some of that was sold outright, while the majority was used to secure foreign exchange or liras via swap agreements, according to people familiar with the matter. Turkey's central bank declined to comment. The move comes amid strains on Turkey's disinflation strategy, which relies heavily on maintaining a stable or steadily depreciating lira, including with hard-currency interventions, usually via state-run banks. Rising energy import costs and increased dollar demand since the conflict began have made that approach more challenging to maintain. Officials have turned to gold sales and gold swap arrangements from the central bank's $135 billion stockpile to meet liquidity needs and stabilize domestic demand, according to Iris Cibre, the founder of Phoenix Consultancy in Istanbul. She estimated total sales at 58.4 tons, with more than half of that conducted via gold-for-foreign-exchange swaps abroad. ... ... For the remainder of the report: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-03-26/turkey-s-8-billion-gold-drawdown-since-iran-war-hits-bullion * * * Support GATA by purchasing Stuart Englert's "Rigged" "Rigged" is a concise explanation of government's currency market rigging policy and extensively credits GATA's work exposing it. Ten percent of sales proceeds are contributed to GATA. Buy a copy for $14.99 through Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Rigged-Exposing-Largest-Financial%20-History/dp/1651405204/ref=sr_1_fkmr1_2?keywords=rugged+stuart+englert&qid=1579708888&sr=8-2-fkmr1 * * * Help keep GATA going: GATA is a civil rights and educational organization based in the United States and tax-exempt under the U.S. Internal Revenue Code. Its e-mail dispatches are free, and you can subscribe at: http://www.gata.org To contribute to GATA, please visit: http://www.gata.org/node/16 Donations of $500 or more will entitle the donor to a 1-ounce silver round commemorating GATA's work: https://www.gata.org/sites/default/files/GATA-silver-round-front.png