Türkiye imported a record amount of silver last month, marking a monthly high, as prices of the precious metal rose at an unprecedented level at the start of the year, a report showed on Tuesday.
The country imported 273.3 tons of silver in January, compared to 31.55 tons in January 2025, Anadolu Agency (AA) reported, citing data from the Turkish stock exchange Borsa Istanbul's precious metals market report.
The figure was also up from December's 65.56 tons, according to the report.
At the same time, Türkiye's gold imports totaled 7.79 tons last month, down from 9.65 tons in January 2025 and 10.92 tons in December.
Silver prices surged over 50% through January, buoyed by higher industrial demand, tightening physical conditions, and geopolitical tensions.
However, after hitting a historic high of $121.67 per ounce at the end of January, silver prices have fallen more than 33% since the start of February, due to easing geopolitical tensions and falling expectations of a Federal Reserve (Fed) rate cut.
The choice of Kevin Warsh as the next Fed chair set off a wave of selling in risk assets that had sent precious metals tumbling, reversing much of the gains recorded in January.
Warsh, whom the markets see as hawkish in relation to monetary policy, if confirmed, is likely to succeed Jerome Powell, who often was at odds with U.S. President Donald Trump over the pace of rate cuts.
Simmering tensions between the U.S. and Iran, which appeared to have somewhat eased in recent days, are also considered to have pushed prices of gold and silver down. However, small fluctuations are still visible.
On Wednesday morning, spot silver was up 3.4% at $83.40 per ounce, after falling more than 3% in the previous session.
Gold prices also gained slightly on Wednesday, buoyed by a weaker dollar and lower Treasury yields, while investors awaited key U.S. jobs data later in the day for clues on the Federal Reserve's policy outlook.
Spot gold was 0.5% higher at $5,048.27 per ounce by 08:31 a.m. GMT. U.S. gold futures for April delivery gained 0.8% to $5,072.60 per ounce.
Gold was at nearly $5,600 on Jan. 29, the highest on record. Retail and central banks' demand around the world has spurred prices of gold to unseen levels and investors and analysts predict they are likely to maintain an upward momentum this year.