Central Bank dollar reserves improving, says Şimşek

There has been an unprecedented improvement in the Central Bank of Türkiye's dollar reserves, Finance Minister Şimşek said on Monday.

"The Central Bank's daily balance sheet shows an improvement of almost $49 billion between April 1 and 16. This is an improvement unprecedented in history," Şimşek said in an interview with TRT Haber.

Some of the improvement is due to corporate resources, some of it is from long-term external financing, and some of it can be considered hot money inflows, the minister added.

"If we hadn't purchased foreign currency from the market, the dollar could have dropped below 30 Turkish Liras," Şimşek said.

"There's no reason for the lira to lose value. We have accumulated reserves and need to strengthen our reserve position. Currently, Türkiye is experiencing a significant influx of funds, the current account deficit is decreasing, and the Turkish lira is very attractive. There's no reason for a serious depreciation of the lira. This is supportive of lowering inflation."

The minister added that no tax increases, other for some exceptions and exemptions in Value Added Tax (VAT), are planned this year, and the inflation expectations are improving.

"We are determined to decrease inflation," Şimşek said.

"We will not back down after a slight decrease this year. We will bring the inflation down to 14 percent next year and to single-digit the following year. We will not take a step back from our fiscal and monetary policy. We will continue to work until we bring inflation down."

Şimşek said while the government continues to work to heal the wounds of the devastating Feb. 6, 2023, earthquakes, it will take non-earthquake expenditures under control.

"We will implement the savings package...