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The Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye’s (CBRT) reserves climbed sharply in early April, reversing weeks of war-driven strain and hinting at a partial easing in market stress.
The central bank's total reserves rose by 4.1%, or $6.3 billion, in the week of April 3 to $161.6 billion, the first increase since the Iran war began.
Gross foreign exchange reserves increased by 6.6%, or $3.1 billion, to $58.4 billion during the same week. Gold reserves also pushed higher, rising by 3.2%, or $3.2 billion, to $103.2 billion.
The rebound follows a period of sustained pressure in the first four weeks of the war, when capital outflows accelerated, and policymakers stepped in heavily to support the Turkish lira.
The central bank sold roughly $56.7 billion net in combined interventions at the peak to boost dollar liquidity. The bank also resumed swap operations, including dollar-lira and dollar-gold swaps, as part of efforts to stabilize markets.
Net reserves also jumped by around 30.2%, climbing from $35.1 billion to $45.7 billion as of April 3. However, net reserves excluding swaps extended their decline, falling by about 8.9% from $20.2 billion to $18.4 billion.
Carry trade flows, which had weakened in the early phase of the war, appeared to reverse outflows, rising to $49.9 billion over the four weeks.
Non-resident investors remained sellers in the week ending April 3, offloading $217.8 million in equities and $784.3 million in government domestic debt securities. Despite the outflows, the total stock of foreign-held equities rose to $39.1 billion, while holdings in government bonds edged down to $14.3 billion.
The banking sector’s total deposits increased by ₺388.6 billion ($8.7 billion) to ₺29.4 trillion ($660.2 billion) in the same week. Foreign currency deposits climbed by 2.8% to $270.8 billion.
Domestic consumer loans also expanded by 1.8%, reaching ₺6.1 trillion, indicating rising borrowing needs amid market volatility.
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