Turkiye may halt gold imports to lessen economic impact
Business
Gold imports surged recently as more people tried to safeguard their riches on rising inflation
ISTANBUL (Web Desk) - Turkiye may halt certain gold imports in an effort to lessen the economic impact of last week's earthquakes, Bloomberg News said on Tuesday quoting a government official with firsthand knowledge of the situation.
Bloomberg stated that the Treasury and Finance Ministry's embargo would only apply to foreign cash against goods transactions involving gold. The percentage of Turkey's imports of gold that would be impacted was unclear and the ministry did not immediately reply to a request for clarification.
Turkish imports of gold have surged recently as more people purchase bullion to safeguard their riches against rising inflation and a depreciating local currency. The massive amount of bullion entering the nation caused the country's $48.8 billion current account deficit last year. Turkiye imported gold of $5.1 billion in January.
Buildings fell throughout the snowy region as a result of a 7.9 magnitude earthquake that slammed central Turkey and northwest Syria last week killing tens of thousands of people. This led to a massive evacuation from the area as rescuers looked for survivors buried under the wreckage.
