Turkiye's Central Bank dumps $26 bln to halt lira freefall
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Imamoglu's arrest has ignited the largest protests in Turkiye in over a decade, with over 300,000 people rallying in Istanbul alone on Friday, according to CHP leader Ozgur Ozel.
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A man, a Turkish flag draped on his back, stands in front of anti-riot police officers during clashes in a rally against the arrest of Istanbul's Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, in Istanbul, Turkiye, Friday, March 21, 2025. (AP)
Turkiye's Central Bank has sold an estimated $26 billion in foreign currency reserves over just three days this week in a bid to stabilize the rapidly falling lira, according to a report by Haberturk on Saturday. The massive intervention coincided with mounting political unrest sparked by the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, a key opposition figure and potential challenger to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
According to Haberturk, roughly $12 billion was injected into the market on Wednesday, with an additional $14 billion sold across Thursday and Friday. The lira nosedived after reports emerged of Imamoglu's detention on fraud and terrorism charges, shaking investor confidence and triggering the currency's sharp drop which breached the 41 mark against the US dollar.
The Central Bank publicly confirmed on Thursday that it would begin currency sales to support the lira. This followed a single-day depreciation of over 10%, one of the steepest plunges in recent years.
Imamoglu's arrest has ignited the largest protests in Turkiye in over a decade, with over 300,000 people rallying in Istanbul alone on Friday, according to CHP leader Ozgur Ozel. The demonstrations quickly spread to at least 40 provinces, leading to violent clashes with riot police, mass arrests, and heightened political tensions.
Read more: Imamoglu declared as opposition presidential candidate despite arrest
President Erdogan, meanwhile, accused the opposition of "grave irresponsibility" and warned that Turkiye would not allow "street terror" to take hold — remarks that further intensified the sense of crisis in the country. The unrest has rattled markets, pushing the BIST 100 stock index down more than 8% by Friday afternoon.
