Turkish lira slumps to near-record low on central banker’s sacking
Turkey’s lira slid 15 per cent to a near all-time low this morning after President Tayyip Erdogan’s shock weekend ousting of a hawkish central bank governor sparked fears of a reversal of recent rate hikes, before clawing back some overnight losses.
The appointment of Sahap Kavcioglu, a former banker and ruling party lawmaker, in the early hours on Saturday marked the third time since mid-2019 that Erdogan has abruptly fired a central bank chief.
Kavcioglu sought to ease concerns about a sharp selloff in Turkish assets and a pivot from tight to loose policy, telling bank CEOs yesterday he planned no immediate policy change.
The currency tumbled to as weak as 8.4850 versus the dollar, from 7.2185 on Friday, back to levels touched in early November when it reached an intraday record of 8.58.
After dropping by 15 per cent, the lira has recovered some ground to stand about eight per cent lower against the US dollar. Trading on the exchange was suspended for a short time after a slump in share prices triggered circuit breakers.