Turkey’s lira headed yesterday for its biggest weekly fall since the aftermath of a failed coup last July, as the central bank’s efforts to tighten liquidity and calls from President Tayyip Erdogan for Turks to sell dollars failed to reassure investors. The lira shed more than one percent against the dollar by 0840 GMT, even after the central bank tried to support the currency for a second day by not opening the one-week repo auction through which it usually funds the market.

“By not opening a one-week repo auction again today the central bank is continuing (veiled) monetary tightening,” said Is Investment economist Muammer Komurcuoglu, but he said the market was focused on whether the central bank would hike interest rates at its next meeting on Jan. 24.

The lira has lost as much as 10 percent against the dollar since the start of 2017, making it the worst-performing major currency of the new year.

Source: thepeninsulaqatar.com