Turkey becomes world’s biggest gold seller, sells 58 tons in 14 days

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The Central Bank of Turkey sold 58 tons of gold worth over $8 billion in just two weeks, The Kobeissi Letter posted on X. The data showed gold reserves dropped by 6 tons in the week ending March 13. Another 52 tons were sold in the week ending March 20, making the total sale around 58 tons. After these sales, Turkey’s gold reserves fell to about 513 tons, the biggest drop in seven years.

More than half of the gold was used to borrow US Dollars through swap deals. The rest of the gold was sold directly in the open market. The gold sales were bigger than the roughly 43 tons of outflows from global gold-backed ETFs in the same period. This made Turkey the single largest source of gold selling worldwide during those two weeks.

Turkey FX reserves fall

The move came as Turkey used foreign exchange reserves to support its currency, the lira. The lira came under pressure due to rising energy import costs and higher demand for dollars after the West Asia war began. Turkey’s total foreign exchange reserves reportedly dropped by about $40 billion to around $175 billion, as stated by The Kobeissi Letter. This level is the lowest since the third quarter of 2025.

Gold sale hits global prices

Wion reported that nearly 60 tons of gold worth over $8 billion were swapped and sold in two weeks. The report said the decline included 6 tons in the March 13 week and 52.4 tons in the March 20 week. The gold sales added downward pressure on global bullion prices.
Swap deals to support lira

A report by Bloomberg said some gold was sold directly, but most was used to secure foreign exchange or lira via swaps. Officials from the central bank declined to comment on the transactions. The strategy comes as Turkey tries to control inflation by keeping the lira stable. This strategy usually relies on foreign-currency interventions through state-run banks. Rising energy costs and strong dollar demand since the war made this approach harder to maintain.
Analysts warn more pressure

The central bank relied on gold sales and swap deals to manage liquidity and support domestic demand. Iris Cibre of Phoenix Consultancy estimated total gold sales at about 58.4 tons. She said more than half of the sales were done through gold-for-foreign-exchange swaps overseas. The intervention size was larger than the 43-ton outflow from gold-backed ETFs tracked globally.

Bloomberg also reported Turkey discussed tracking gold reserves via transactions in London to protect the lira. After the report, global gold spot prices turned from gains to losses. Spot gold fell about 2.4% by 5 p.m. in London, after earlier dropping as much as 3.1%. Analysts say rising energy costs are forcing Turkey to sell gold to stabilise its economy.

Courtesy: www.indiatimes.com