ISTANBUL, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- Türkiye produced a record number of quarter gold coins in 2023, as Turkish consumers sought to preserve their savings amid soaring inflation, official data showed on Monday.
The country's Directorate General of Mint and Security Printing said the production of quarter gold coins rose by 67.8 percent year-on-year, reaching 17.8 million pieces.
Murat Tufan, an analyst with Turkish broadcaster Ekoturk, said the surge in production reflected the strong demand for gold as a hedge against high inflation, which reached 64.86 percent in January.
"We can call this move the 'forced destiny' of Turks against inflation for the past two years," Tufan told Xinhua, adding that investing in gold had always paid off in Türkiye.
"This intensive gold production last year also revealed that the economy has failed a bit in the fight against inflation," he said.
Fatih Karahan, the new governor of the central bank, announced the year-end inflation forecast as 36 percent in 2024.
One gram of gold was trading at around 2,007 Turkish liras (65.02 U.S. dollars) on Monday morning, up 0.5 percent on the day, while the quarter gold coin was 3,309 liras. Gold is not only a form of savings in Türkiye, but also a traditional gift for weddings, births and other ceremonies.
Nurcan Gokyildiz, 52, told Xinhua she followed gold prices very closely, and the first thing she did every morning was to check the prices on the internet.
"Two years ago, we used to organize our gold days for complete gold coins, but we can hardly afford it anymore, and turn to buy quarter coins," she added.
Kutay Guler, 45, who lives in Istanbul, converted some of his dollars into gold two years ago. "Since then, whenever there is a slight drop in gold prices, I immediately buy a one-gram gold bar or a one-quarter gold coin," Guler told Xinhua, adding "my investment grows steadily."
Meanwhile, the Turkish lira continued to depreciate against the dollar this year, reaching 30.87 liras against one dollar on Monday, close to the psychological level of 31 liras.
The central bank, which has been hiking interest rates to curb inflation, is expected to keep the policy rate unchanged at 45 percent this Thursday.
Tufan said this meant that those who had gold and dollars as savings would benefit and that the demand for gold would remain high in the coming days. ■
