(Bloomberg) -- The Turkish central bank has asked local lenders to set a minimum spread on gold sales to domestic buyers, in another attempt to curb high demand for the precious metal.
Lenders were asked to set a spread between their asking and bidding prices of at least 3% on lira-based gold sales, according to people with direct knowledge of the matter, who asked not to be named because the request hasn’t been made public. The spreads were freely determined by the banks before.
The measure comes as household demand for gold has soared in Turkey, with savers seeking protection from soaring inflation and steep declines in the lira. Surging gold imports have become a concern for authorities because they’ve been one of the biggest drags on Turkey’s external finances in recent months.
The central bank declined to comment.
The deficit in Turkey’s current account, the broadest measure of trade and investment, widened to $48.8 billion in 2022, with gold imports accounting for $20.4 billion.
Earlier this week, Bloomberg reported that the Treasury and Finance Ministry had finalized a regulation that will force a pause in gold purchases from abroad that fall into the category of “cash against goods.”
©2023 Bloomberg L.P.
Advertisement