Erdogan effect on the Turkish lira, which sinks today to a record low against the US dollar, capitulating to 13.44 against the US currency, well beyond that barrier at 11 which, last week, was considered “psychological” by analysts.
The umpteenth flight from the Turkish lira was triggered by the statements of the president of Turkey who, last night, returned to defend the monetary policy of the central bank that he himself, with his continuous and repeated expulsion of various bankers, forced to be expansive, despite the runaway inflation in the country.
In a speech last night, Erdogan described the rate cut he wanted as part of “a war of economic independence”.
Last Thursday, the central bank of Turkey cut rates by as much as 100 basis points, to 15%, bringing the total cuts initiated since September to -400 basis points, against inflation now approaching 20%. In today’s session, the lira dropped from intraday lows to -15%.