FILE PHOTO: A merchant counts Turkish lira banknotes at the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul, Turkey, March 29, 2019. REUTERS/Murad Sezer/File Photo
December 13, 2021
ISTANBUL (Reuters) – The Turkish lira weakened to a record low beyond 14.0 to the dollar on Monday due to worries over President Tayyip Erdogan’s low interest rate policy and prospects of yet more easing by the central bank at a Thursday policy-setting meeting.
The lira weakened 1.5% from Friday’s close to 14.1 against the U.S. currency by 0658 GMT, marking a new intraday low water mark. It has lost 47% of its value so far this year.
Turkey’s central bank is expected to cut its policy rate by 100 basis points to 14% this week, a Reuters poll showed on Friday, despite inflation soaring above 21%.
The central bank intervened in the foreign exchange market three times in the last two weeks, selling dollars and keeping the lira below the 14.0 level.
(Reporting by Daren Butler; Editing by Jonathan Spicer)
