Turkish currency and debt crisis

The Turkish Central Bank revised its reserve requirements regulation on April 23 in a move to strengthen the macroprudential policy toolkit.

Reserve requirements, which used to only be applied to the liability side of balance sheets, will now be applied to asset sides as well, the bank said in a statement.

Rising inflation and exorbitant prices are global problems, but Turkey has been among the countries least affected by this phenomenon thanks to its production capacity and logistical advantages, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said, vowing to win the fight against soaring inflation.

Businesses that earn revenues in foreign currencies, particularly exporters and tourism companies, will be granted cheap loans, Treasury and Finance Minister Nureddin Nebati said at a meeting in the Black Sea province of Samsun on April 15.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on April 6 vowed to protect the nation against rising inflation, reiterating his government's goal to become among the 10 biggest economies of the world.

The government is determined to lower inflation permanently and is taking steps in that direction, Treasury and Finance Minister Nureddin Nebati has said.

He noted that the annual inflation rate came in at 61 percent in March, but inflation will ease to more reasonable levels toward the end of the year.

Turkey's short-term external debt stock was at $125.6 billion at the end of December 2021, indicating an increase of 10.2 percent compared to the end of 2020, the country's Central Bank said.

Banks' short-term external debt stock decreased by 9.7 percent to $51.8 billion and other sectors' short-term external debt stock increased by 35.1 percent to $47.8 billion.

Turkey will surely win its fight against inflation and high cost of living as the government is implementing its program for the construction of the "Great Turkey" step by step, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Feb. 17.

Turkey's president announced a set of measures on Feb. 16 that aim to bring relief to households and businesses reeling from soaring electricity bills.

Turkey's current account balance posted a $3.84 billion deficit in December 2021, up $401 million year on year, according to data released by the Turkish Central Bank on Feb. 11.

The country's 12-month rolling deficit totaled $14.9 billion.

The gold- and energy-excluded current account posted a $2.27 billion surplus compared to a $700 million surplus in December 2020.

Turkey's calendar-adjusted industrial production soared 14.4 percent in December 2021 on a yearly basis, according to the latest data released by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) on Feb. 11.