Turkey’s $500 Billion Gold Hoard Complicates Inflation Fight

A rally in gold prices is lifting the wealth of Turkish households by billions of dollars, complicating the central bank’s efforts to rein in prices.

Turks’ stock of gold outside the financial system, often called “under mattress gold,” is worth half a trillion dollars, according to central bank estimates. Surging bullion prices have created a wealth effect – where consumers spend more because they feel better off — of more than $100 billion over the past year, Governor Fatih Karahan has said.