Turkey's gold imports seen up by 50 percent

Gold imports into Turkey, the world's fourth-biggest gold consumer, are expected to rise by around 50 percent in 2011 and jewellery exports by 15-20 percent, a Turkish gold banker said. Turkey's gold imports rose to 42.49 tonnes in 2010, up 13 percent from the previous year. Jewellery exports reached a value of $1.2 billion.
"We expect Turkish gold imports to increase to 60-70 tonnes, and gold jewellery exports to rise 15-20 percent this year," Selami Erten, director of gold banking at TEB told Reuters. Gold imports soared earlier this year as investors bought the precious metal in anticipation of further price rises and as Turkey's central bank cut interest rates.