You are here
Turkey to target 'under the mattress' gold in effort to bolster the lira
By Laurel Pitel
Financial Times, London
Wednesday, February 9, 2022
Turkey will expand its drive to lure savers back to the lira next week with a scheme aimed at bringing billions of dollars worth of "under the mattress" gold into the banking system, the country's finance minister told investors during a visit to London.
Nureddin Nebati, who this week made his first trip to the UK since being appointed at the end of last year, said that the government hoped that 10% of the estimated $250 billion worth of gold kept by Turks in their homes would be converted into lira under the initiative, according to two participants at the event.
... Dispatch continues below ...
... ADVERTISEMENT ...
First Majestic Produces Silver and Gold in the United States and Mexico
First Majestic is a publicly traded mining company focused on silver and gold production in Mexico and the United States. The company owns and operates the San Dimas silver and gold mine, the Jerritt Canyon gold mine, the Santa Elena silver and gold mine, and the La Encantada silver mine. In 2022 these mines are projected to produce between 32.2 to 35.8 million ounces of silver equivalent with an all-in sustaining cost of $16.79 to $18.06 per payable silver-equivalent ounce.
For more information about the company, visit:
https://www.firstmajestic.com/
The company offers a portion of its silver production for sale to the public. Bars, ingots, coins, and medallions are available for purchase online at First Majestic's bullion store at some of the lowest possible premiums:
https://store.firstmajestic.com/
Nebati said that 30,000 gold shops would play a central role in the scheme, which will build on a broader package of emergency measures unveiled in December in order to halt a freefall in the lira, which lost 44% of its value against the dollar in 2021.
The government had signed contracts with five gold refineries to convert jewellery handed over under the programme into gold bullion that would contribute to the country's central bank reserves, he added.
The ministry of finance declined to comment on the plan but Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news agency cited Nebati as saying that new measures would soon be announced to put "under the mattress gold into the [financial] system."
A traditional gift given for weddings and births, gold has long been a preferred way for Turks suspicious of the banking system -- and their country's history of inflation -- to guard their wealth. But Turkish officials see it as part of a broader problem of "dollarisation," or flocking to foreign currencies and precious metals, that has been a persistent source of pressure on the Turkish lira.
While the new deposit schemes have had some success, attracting about $23 billion in total, analysts are sceptical that they will provide a lasting solution to mistrust of the lira. Turkey has negative real interest rates of almost 35% once Turkey's inflation rate of 48.7% in January is taken into account. ...
... For the remainder of the report:
https://www.ft.com/content/b015842e-fcbd-40f8-b3f7-f3bc6d5c43a8
* * *
Toast to a free gold market
with great GATA-label wine
Wine carrying the label of the Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee, cases of which were awarded to three lucky donors in GATA's recent fundraising campaign, are now available for purchase by the case from Fay J Winery LLC in Texarkana, Texas. Each case has 12 bottles and the cost is $240, which includes shipping via Federal Express.
Here's what the bottles look like:
http://www.gata.org/files/GATA-4-wine-bottles.jpg
Buyers can compose their case by choosing as many as four varietals from the list here:
http://www.gata.org/files/FayJWineryVarietals.jpg
GATA will receive a commission on each case of GATA-label wine sold. So if you like wine and buy it anyway, why not buy it in a way that supports our work to achieve free and transparent markets in the monetary metals?
To order a case of GATA-label wine, please e-mail Fay J Winery at: bagman1236@aol.com
* * *
Support GATA by purchasing
Stuart Englert's "Rigged"
"Rigged" is a concise explanation of government's currency market rigging policy and extensively credits GATA's work exposing it. Ten percent of sales proceeds are contributed to GATA. Buy a copy for $14.99 through Amazon --
-- or for an additional $3 and a penny buy an autographed copy from Englert himself by contacting him at srenglert@comcast.net.
* * *
Help keep GATA going:
GATA is a civil rights and educational organization based in the United States and tax-exempt under the U.S. Internal Revenue Code. Its e-mail dispatches are free, and you can subscribe at:
To contribute to GATA, please visit:
