Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said the country’s central bank will expand its foreign exchange reserves to over $115 billion. The reserves will increase from $109 billion “once processes are complete”, Erdoğan said in a televised speech on Tuesday to outline his government’s economic successes. The International Monetary Fund is providing Turkey with $6.4 billion worth of special drawing rights, an international reserve asset that may be converted into dollars, euros, yen or sterling. The capital is part of a $650 billion global injection of funds by the IMF to help stabilise the global economy following the COVID-19 pandemic. Foreign investors have criticised Turkey for spending tens of billions of dollars of the country’s currency reserves defending the lira and helping to bailout cash-strapped companies. Concerns over unorthodox economic policies have pushed the lira to successive record lows against the dollar and euro. Erdoğan has criticised the IMF and ruled out any financial aid since a currency crisis swept through the country’s financial markets in 2018. The country last completed a loan accord with the fund over a decade ago. Turkey’s foreign currency reserves, net of liabilities such as currency swaps, stand in negative territory. The IMF’s SDRs will help boost Turkey’s gross reserves but will have no impact on the net amount.
Ahval