Gold imports 80 percent down in first quarter

ISTANBUL

Turkey imported only 9.3 tons of gold in the first quarter, an 80 percent drop compared with the same period of last year, Borsa Istanbul data has showed.

Turkey’s gold imports plunged by 80 percent to 9.3 tons at the end of the first quarter, as high currency rates as well as sliding domestic and Iranian demand remained effective in March.

According Borsa Istanbul figures, gold imports, which hovered around record levels last year on low prices and high Iranian demand, have dropped by 89 percent on annual basis in March after recording a 93 percent slide in February.

Imports were 6 tons in January, 1.27 tons in February and 2.03 tons in March, totaling 9.3 tons in overall. Gold imports in last year’s first quarter reached 46.88 tons.

Turkey’s gold imports last year skyrocketed by 150 percent to reach a record level of 302.3 tons totaling $16 billion, as Ankara continued paying for Iranian natural gas and oil imports using the Turkish Lira and Tehran used deposits held in Turkey’s state-run Halkbank to buy gold.