Turkish Lira Hits Record Low
The lira continues to lose value amid foreign investors fleeing the country, and local concerns over President Erdogan's power over the central bank.
The Turkish Lira hit a record low on Wednesday, continuing its fall amid concerns regarding the power President Recep Tayyip Erdogan holds on the fiscal policy after the central bank introduced sudden cuts on interest rates.
The lira fell below its previous record low of 8.9995 per $ on Friday, before recuperating at 8.9220, meaning it lost more than 16% of its value this year. The Turkish lira has lost more than two-thirds of its value in the past 5 years.
Turkey's currency was close to hitting its lowest days ago, which at the time was at 8.88, with foreign investors moving away from the country. However, some local bargain hunting mitigated the losses after Turkey's Central Bank cut its policy rate and gave no hints as to how low the rates might go.
Almost two weeks ago, it lost about 2.5% of its value, driven by expectations that the US monetary stimulus would be reduced sooner than expected.