Turkish lira hits new low against dollar
The Turkish lira hit a record low of against the
U.S. dollar, reaching 7.55 at 12:21 in Istanbul local time on Thursday.
The fall follows better than expected economic data
in the United States, where the federal reserve upgraded its 2020 GDP outlook,
resulting in a depreciation across several emerging currencies as investors
shifted to the dollar.
The lira’s weakness comes despite the Organisation
for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) predicting that the Turkish
economy would shrink less than expected this year. The international economic
organisation had forecast a 4.8 per cent contraction in 2020. But this was
revised to 2.9 per cent in its interim economic outlook published on Wednesday.
On Monday, Moody’s credit agency cut its investment
rating of Turkish debt to its lowest-ever level, citing the concerns about
Turkey’s foreign currency reserves and growing dollarization.
