Turkey's assets abroad increased by 3.5% from the end of last year to reach $250.2 billion (TL 2.09 trillion) in the first three months of 2021, data from the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (CBRT) showed Thursday.

The country's liabilities against non-residents fell 8.6% to $589.5 billion during the January-March period.

The net international investment position (NIIP) – the gap between Turkey's external assets and liabilities – narrowed in the first quarter, reaching minus $339.3 billion. The NIIP was minus $403.5 billion at the end of 2020.

Showing a snapshot in time, the NIIP, which can be either positive or negative, is the value of overseas assets owned by a nation, minus the value of domestic assets owned by foreigners, including overseas assets and liabilities held by a country's government, the private sector and its citizens.

Reserve assets, a sub-item under assets, were down 7.1% to $86.7 billion in the same period.

Other investments, another sub-item under assets, were recorded as $106.8 billion, indicating an increase of 15.6% in the January-March period compared to the end of 2020.

On the liabilities side, direct investment – equity capital plus other capital – fell 23.2% to $163.7 billion, affected in part by changes in market value and foreign exchange rates.

The foreign exchange deposits of non-residents held within resident banks were recorded as $34.2 billion, reflecting an increase of 2.4% compared to the end of 2020 the bank said. Turkish lira deposits decreased by 2.6%, reaching $15.3 billion.

The central bank said the total external loan stock of the banks amounted to $63.6 billion, a slight decrease of 0.9%, and the total external loan stock of the other sectors was $95.6 billion, declining 1.3% in the same period.