Turkish Central Bank intervenes to curb 'unhealthy' lira losses
Amid a sharp slide in the nation’s currency, the Turkish Central Bank announced it would intervene in markets and sell foreign exchange reserves Wednesday to stem volatility in the Turkish lira.
ISTANBUL — After losing 28.3% of its value against the US dollar last month, the Turkish lira remained volatile Wednesday, prompting intervention by the country’s central bank.
In a pair of press releases issued Wednesday, the bank announced it would directly intervene by selling foreign exchange reserves and conducting transactions on the Borsa Istanbul Derivates Market “due to unhealthy price formations in exchange rates.”
The intervention comes amid one of the deepest slides in the lira’s recent history as the currency makes and breaks record lows with increasing regularity. The lira briefly traded at a new low just shy of 14 per US dollar early Wednesday before rallying to about 12.50 following the central bank’s statements.
Since then, the currency trimmed gains and was trading at about 13.30 per US dollar at 7 p.m. Istanbul time. The currency is down 45% against the greenback so far this year.
