Turkey's gold imports reach new record high in 2013

Turkey's gold imports hit a new record high in 2013 because of the ongoing gold-for-gas trade with Iran and the slump of the gold price in the year. Turkey imported 302.3 tons of gold in the past year, data from Borsa Istanbul indicated a 150 percent rise from the previous year 's level of 120.78 tons. As for the monthly data, Turkey imported 31.65 tons of gold last December, increased by 64 percent compared to the previous month. During the past year, Turkey imported natural gas from Iran while paying it by gold. However, since Turkey did not produce much gold itself, it had to import more gold from other countries, according to analysts. Moreover, the sharp drop in gold prices, which fell 23 percent through 2013, also fueled Turkey's gold import.