The total gross reserves of the Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye (CBRT) climbed to a new all-time high for the second consecutive week, data released on Thursday showed.
The reserves rose $2.14 billion to $176.5 billion as of Aug. 15, renewing the previous peak of $174.4 billion set in the previous week, according to the statistics by the CBRT.
The central bank officials last week said the monetary authority would maintain its reserve accumulation policy.
The data showed that gross foreign exchange reserves rose by $3.3 billion to $90.9 billion, up from $87.6 billion a week earlier and the highest level since this March.
Gold reserves, meanwhile, fell by $1.2 billion to $85.6 billion.
Separate data on Thursday showed deposits in the foreign exchange-protected deposit scheme, a costly measure introduced to shield Turkish lira deposits from currency depreciation, continued to shrink rapidly.
Authorities began phasing out the scheme, known as KKM, in 2023 as part of a shift toward more conventional economic policies.
The stock of the scheme dropped by TL 18 billion ($440 million) in the week ending Aug. 15 to TL 441 billion, according to the data from the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK).
The scheme had peaked at TL 3.4 trillion in August 2023.
Under the scheme, individuals and businesses were able to deposit lira in special accounts that were protected against exchange rate losses.
The lira lost 44% of its value against the U.S. dollar in 2021, 29% in 2022, 37% in 2023 and 16% last year. So far this year, it has depreciated by over 13%.
Officials and the central bank have said the scheme would be terminated by the end of 2025, though many bankers believe the exit could come even sooner.
