The private sector's short-term foreign debt - debt that must be paid in the next 12 months -rose to $19 billion as of February, up $1.4 billion from the end of December 2017, the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (CBRT) announced yesterday.

The sector's long-term foreign debt also climbed $6.8 billion to $228 billion over the same period, the bank said.

Data showed financial institutions' liabilities constituted 51 percent of all long-term loans, while the liabilities of non-financial institutions were the remaining 49 percent. More than half of the private sector's long-term debt is in dollars, at 58.2 percent, with 35.1 percent in euros and 5 percent in Turkish lira. Some 50.4 percent of short-term debt is in dollars, followed by 27.4 percent in euros, and 21.1 percent in Turkish lira.