CBRT held talks with banks: Agenda is 'rising foreign exchange demand'

According to information provided by two banking sources close to the matter, CBRT officials held a meeting with banks yesterday regarding the rising foreign exchange demand in the market in recent days.

A banking source stated that the CBRT told banks during the meeting to pay attention to "unnecessary foreign exchange demand" and said, "The CBRT gave the message that we should talk more and understand where the demand is coming from. It was a meeting held both to understand what is happening and to prevent unnecessary volatility."

CBRT COULD NOT BE REACHED AT THE TIME OF WRITING

The two bankers attributed the rising foreign exchange demand to what they described as a "psychological" demand formed ahead of the local elections at the end of March, noting that this also created "unnecessary demand."

While the steady depreciation of the Turkish Lira has gained momentum in recent days, the dollar/TL started the day at the 31.75 level.

Bankers also stated that the CBRT conducted Turkish Lira-settled forward foreign exchange sales yesterday due to the increased demand for foreign currency.

475 MILLION DOLLAR FORWARD TRANSACTION

While the CBRT conducted a forward transaction amounting to 475 million dollars yesterday for the first time since July, the amount reached its highest level since May 28, the period before the general elections.

On the other hand, the CBRT, which took an additional tightening step in monetary policy by lowering the monthly growth limit for commercial and consumer loans within the scope of the securities maintenance facility, stated that it is working on further steps.

News Source: Reuters