Central bank to resume forex purchase auctions soon.

Central bank to resume forex purchase auctions soon. Durmus Yilmaz, head of the central bank, said that the monetary authority would resume its daily forex purchase auctions soon since the country needed high forex reserves. Yilmaz did not say when the auctions may restart. The central bank suspended its daily forex purchase auctions in May. Yilmaz noted that Turkey did not have enough resources for an early repayment of its debts to the IMF. The central bank governor commented that price stability has not been fully established and the bank will retain its cautious stance on monetary policy. Yilmaz noted the upcoming general elections in Nov 2007 and presidential elections also in 2007 as the potential risks and the central bank may change short-term interest rates to respond to possible tension. According to Yilmaz, if tension rises ahead of the elections, foreign investors may withdraw from the country that will affect exchange rates as well as investors’ confidence. The central bank governor reiterated the bank’s forecast that inflation will decline to 4% next year and will be between 1.7-6.5% in 2008.