Turkish lira plummets to new low

PanARMENIAN.Net - Turkey's lira crashed as much as 7% to a record near 15 to the dollar on Monday, December 13, gripped by worries over President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's risky new economic policy and prospects of another rate cut, prompting the central bank to intervene again, Reuters reports.

The central bank announced its fourth market intervention in two weeks, selling dollars and triggering a lira rebound after it had slid to 14.99. At its low water mark, the currency was worth just half of its value at the beginning of the year.

Last week, the bank moved to keep the lira below 14, given that depreciation fuels inflation in the big emerging market economy which depends heavily on imports. read more

In response to the market turmoil - which has upended Turks' economic lives - Erdogan was set to hold talks with Central Bank Governor Sahap Kavcioglu, Finance Minister Nureddin Nebati and the heads of state banks in Istanbul from around 1200 GMT, sources told Reuters.

"Last week's apparent relative stability of lira was artificial and non-sustainable. Now we see the build-up pressure unfolding, driving lira weakness to the next level," Commerzbank analysts said in a note.

"Any further attempts ... to stabilize lira by interventions is probably bound to fail," they said.