Turkey’s central bank offloaded 52 tonnes of gold and arranged 79 tonnes in swaps between February and March, triggering the sharpest gold price drop since 2008. The sales, valued at $20 billion, reduced Turkey’s net gold reserves to 440 tonnes — a 12-year low — as it sought to stabilize the lira amid 31% inflation. Analysts attribute the 11.5% price plunge to central banks’ record offloading, with Turkey’s moves alone injecting 131 tonnes into markets, equivalent to $46 billion in reserves lost since the Iran war began.