ISTANBUL: The Turkish central bank's net international reserves rose to $19.80 billion as of Feb. 18, near early December levels, from $15.82 billion a week earlier, data showed on Thursday.
The exchange rate used by Reuters on Thursday was 13.6035.
Forex reserves have dropped sharply in recent years, most recently due to billions of dollars the bank sold in market interventions to stem a currency crisis in December.
Net international reserves had risen since April before coming under pressure again when a currency crisis in December prompted the bank to intervene to address "unhealthy" prices.
According to bankers calculations, the recent slump in reserves - which saw reserves fall last month to $7.55 billion - was due to $20 billion in sales to support the lira in December and some $3 billion in January.
Turkish Central bank net reserves to rise toward $20bn
The lira still ended the year down 44% against the dollar in 2021, a slump which sent inflation soaring to nearly 49% in January, the highest under President Tayyip Erdogan's rule.
In 2019-2020, the net reserves plunged as the central bank sold off $128 billion via state banks to stabilize the lira, a programme that emerged as a focus of what Turkey's opposition calls government mismanagement.
The central bank in years past used swaps with local banks to backstop interventions, an unorthodox policy that spooked foreign investors and local savers.
Data showed the bank's outstanding swap transactions stood at $39.38 billion as of Wednesday. The reserves are in negative territory once the swaps are deducted.
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