Turkish Lira’s depreciation continues today despite effort by the government to calm the markets. USD/TRY breached 7.2 handle in early trading and stays firm around 7, up more than 9%.
Turkish Finance Minister Berat Albayrak said on Sunday that plans will be ready on Monday to ease investors concerns. The plans are prepared for banks and will particularly help small to mid-sized business most affected by the sharp depreciation in Lira. In an interview with Hurriyet newspaper, Albayrak said “from Monday morning onwards our institutions will take the necessary steps and will share the announcements with the market.” And, “we will be taking the necessary steps with our banks and banking watchdog in a speedy manner”. No detail is leaked yet. Albayrak is President Tayyip Erdogan’s son-in-law
Talking about the President, Erdogan told supports in Trabzon on the Black Sea coast on Sunday that the country is not in a crisis, and the Lira’s free fall was a plot. He said “What is the reason for all this storm in a tea cup? There is no economic reason for this … This is called carrying out an operation against Turkey.”
Erdogan also repeated his call for citizens to buy Lira. He said, “I am specifically addressing our manufacturers: Do not rush to the banks to buy dollars. Do not take a stance saying ‘We are bankrupt, we are done, we should guarantee ourselves’. If you do that, that would be wrong. You should know that to keep this nation standing is … also the manufacturers’ duty.”
