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Turkey’s gold imports have surged to their highest on record so far this year after a hefty drop in bullion prices, with further progress signposted if restrictions on trade with Iran are formally eased.
Turkey imported 270.7 tons of gold in the first 11 months of the year, data from Borsa Istanbul showed, more than double 2012’s full-year imports of 120.8 tons. The rise stemmed chiefly from this year’s sharp drop in gold prices, which have fallen 26 percent since December 2012 after 12 straight years of gains.
“Turkey, like most of the price-sensitive markets, saw this year’s lower price level as an opportunity to replenish stocks and release some of the pent-up demand that has been building as consumers have been priced out of the market,” Cameron Alexander, an analyst with Thomson Reuters GFMS, said.
“Official coin demand has more than doubled, investment demand has also more than doubled, and jewelry demand has rebounded by around a fifth this year.”
As well as the price outlook, further growth in imports next year will depend in part on how far Iranian demand for gold from Turkey picks up, Alexander said, after the trade tailed off this year due to U.S. sanctions.
Iran could obtain access to $1.5 billion in revenue from trade in gold and metals under the terms of an interim deal agreed last month in Geneva between Iran and six world powers. Turkey’s gold trade with Iran boomed in 2012 when Ankara was paying for its natural gas and oil imports with Turkish lira, and Iranians were using those deposits held in Turkey’s Halkbank to buy gold.
Sanctions on metal trade
“Given the sanctions on metal trading have been lifted, we may see a return of this trade,” Alexander said. “This would in turn drive imports again to meet the gas-for-gold transactions. I have no evidence at this point that there has been any increase in trade, but we are watching closely.” Turkey’s gold imports dropped sharply after the global financial crisis pushed gold prices sharply higher from 2008 onwards. In 2009, when prices climbed 25 percent, shipments slumped to 37.6 tons from 165.9 tons a year earlier.
Borsa Istanbul does not produce gold export data, but a separate report showed that on a U.S. dollar basis, exports of precious metals and stones were less than half 2012 levels in the first 10 months of the year, according to Mitsui Precious Metals analyst David Jollie.
That suggests the rise in demand was local, he said.
“You’ve had quite a long period now of a relatively weak economy in Turkey, and high gold prices,” he said. “Now we’re at a point where gold is cheaper and the economy is showing signs of growth, so it’s natural that people want to buy gold.”
Gold is a traditional investment for many Turkish people seeking to hedge against sharp fluctuations in their currency. Jewelry, such as women’s gold bangles gifted at weddings, is seen by many as a safe store of wealth.
“Because of this significant fall in prices, we saw gold imports rising a lot in April to June,” Gökhan Aksu, deputy general manager of Istanbul Gold Refinery, said.
“It was both reactionary buying from the producers and also those who wanted to take advantage of the arbitrage.”
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About the game:
USA as a world power? In E-Sim it is possible!
In E-Sim we have a huge, living world, which is a mirror copy of the Earth. Well, maybe not completely mirrored, because the balance of power in this virtual world looks a bit different than in real life. In E-Sim, USA does not have to be a world superpower, It can be efficiently managed as a much smaller country that has entrepreneurial citizens that support it's foundation. Everything depends on the players themselves and how they decide to shape the political map of the game.
Work for the good of your country and see it rise to an empire.
Activities in this game are divided into several modules. First is the economy as a citizen in a country of your choice you must work to earn money, which you will get to spend for example, on food or purchase of weapons which are critical for your progress as a fighter. You will work in either private companies which are owned by players or government companies which are owned by the state. After progressing in the game you will finally get the opportunity to set up your own business and hire other players. If it prospers, we can even change it into a joint-stock company and enter the stock market and get even more money in this way.
In E-Sim, international wars are nothing out of the ordinary.
Become an influential politician.
The second module is a politics. Just like in real life politics in E-Sim are an extremely powerful tool that can be used for your own purposes. From time to time there are elections in the game in which you will not only vote, but also have the ability to run for the head of the party you're in. You can also apply for congress, where once elected you will be given the right to vote on laws proposed by your fellow congress members or your president and propose laws yourself. Voting on laws is important for your country as it can shape the lives of those around you. You can also try to become the head of a given party, and even take part in presidential elections and decide on the shape of the foreign policy of a given state (for example, who to declare war on). Career in politics is obviously not easy and in order to succeed in it, you have to have a good plan and compete for the votes of voters.
You can go bankrupt or become a rich man while playing the stock market.
The international war.
The last and probably the most important module is military. In E-Sim, countries are constantly fighting each other for control over territories which in return grant them access to more valuable raw materials. For this purpose, they form alliances, they fight international wars, but they also have to deal with, for example, uprisings in conquered countries or civil wars, which may explode on their territory. You can also take part in these clashes, although you are also given the opportunity to lead a life as a pacifist who focuses on other activities in the game (for example, running a successful newspaper or selling products).
At the auction you can sell or buy your dream inventory.
E-Sim is a unique browser game. It's creators ensured realistic representation of the mechanisms present in the real world and gave all power to the players who shape the image of the virtual Earth according to their own. So come and join them and help your country achieve its full potential.
Invest, produce and sell - be an entrepreneur in E-Sim.
Take part in numerous events for the E-Sim community.
