Gold price per gram in Turkey surged by 14.1% year-over-year from January to September, while gold deposits in the country reached TL 64.5 billion, according to the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK).

In the first nine months of the year, which saw global growth concerns, geopolitical risks, Brexit, central banks' monetary policies and trade talks; investors sought safe havens, accompanying increased demand for gold.

Due to the increased demand, per gram price of gold rose by 14.1% as it hit TL 267.4 at the end of September, compared to TL 231.9 in the same month last year.

In the same period, the dollar/lira exchange rate declined to 5.6 from 6.6, down by 6.6%, through the measures taken by the economy administration. The decline in the exchange rate pushed the rise of gold in investor portfolios. Gold deposit accounts in lira, therefore, saw a significant rise despite the decline in the dollar exchange rate.

Gold deposit accounts in Turkey skyrocketed by 67.3% in the January-September period, reaching TL 64,.5 billion from TL 38.5 billion in the same period last year.

In the nine-month period, Istanbul ranked first with gold deposits worth TL 20.5 billion, amounting to almost one-third of Turkey’s overall gold deposits.

Istanbul was followed by Ankara with TL 6.5 billion, İzmir with TL 3.5 billion and Bursa with TL 2.3 billion. Meanwhile, gold deposits amounted to TL 1.9 billion in Konya, TL 1.7 billion in Kocaeli, TL 1.6 billion in Antalya and TL 1 billion in Adana.

On the other hand, cities with the lowest gold deposits were Ardahan with TL 32.5 million, Bayburt with TL 37.8 million, Tunceli with TL 42.2 million, Kilis with TL 44.8 million, Iğdır with TL 54.2 million, Hakkari with TL 62.8 million, Gümüşhane with TL 88.1 million, Kars with TL 89 million, Muş with TL 90.1 million and Ağrı with TL 103.5 million. So, seven out of 10 provinces with the least gold deposits in Turkey are Eastern Anatolian provinces.

Iğdır saw the highest increase of 106.2% in gold deposits from January to September, with gold deposits in the province surging to TL 54.2 million from TL 26.3 million. Iğdır was followed by Niğde with a rise of 93.6 percent, Aksaray with 91.4 percent and Şanlıurfa with 90.2 percent. Gold deposits increased in all provinces of Turkey during the nine-month period.