Turkish President offering to mediate a resolution to Ukraine war
Vladimir Putin has arrived in Kazakhstan for talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan,
Breaking News: Turkish lira plummets to new low, dragging cenbank to the rescue | 14th Dec 2021
Breaking News: Turkish lira plummets to new low, dragging cenbank to the rescue | 14th December 2021
"Any further attempts...to stabilise lira by interventions is probably bound to fail," they said.
By 1225 GMT, the lira had trimmed losses in thin market trading to 14.08 — still 1.3% weaker on the day, and down 34% since the beginning of last month.
The central bank, under pressure from Erdogan, is expected to cut its policy rate by 100 basis points to 14% this week, a Reuters poll showed on Friday, despite inflation soaring to 21.3% last month.
Kavcioglu has said boosting the current account, which showed a surplus of $3.156 billion in October, was key to price and lira stability, but there was scepticism among analysts about the impact of a surplus.
"We doubt that either intervention or a balanced current account will be effective in stabilising the currency," Morgan Stanley said in a note. It added that the central bank's relatively thin reserves mean interventions could be counter-productive.
Data last week showed the central bank's net international reserves falling to $22.47 billion. Reserves are sharply negative once outstanding swap transactions of $45.571 billion are deducted.
Turkey's sovereign dollar bonds dropped, with the 2034 issue down 0.8 cents, according to Tradeweb data.
Outlook revised to negative
The lira crash has sharply eroded Turks' earnings, fuelling poverty and leading to lines of people waiting to buy cheap bread as the price of goods surges. Lawmakers have brawled amid rising tensions in parliament as the opposition slammed government handling of the economy. read more
The central bank has slashed its policy rate by 400 basis points since September, driving investor concerns and upending the budgets and future spending plans of locals.
Late on Friday, ratings agency S&P affirmed Turkey's long-term foreign currency rating at "B+" and revised its outlook to negative on an uncertain policy direction amid rising external risks.
Turkey's 5-year credit default swaps (CDS) nudged one basis point higher to a one-week high of 503 basis points, according to IHS Markit data.
Erdogan has repeatedly advocated for rate cuts as he promotes a new economic plan prioritising economic growth, credit, production and exports, despite widespread criticism of the policy from economists and opposition politicians.
"There is an element of concern about what the economic plan is, and how closely aligned it would be to engaging with the private sector. There is a lack of clarity around that," said Khush Choksy, the U.S. Chamber's senior vice president for international development and for the Middle East and Turkey.
"U.S. companies do have questions about how Turkey will handle the current short-term crisis and get on to the path of long-term growth that it enjoyed for a long period," he said in an interview.
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Breaking News: Explosion in Turkish city of Diyarbakir
Explosion reported in one of the largest cities in southeastern Turkey.
16 dead after truck hits crowd in 2nd accident in Turkey: minister
At least 16 people killed and 29 injured after a truck hurtled into pedestrians in Turkey, the health minister says. It was the second major crash of the day after a previous crash with a bus and an ambulance in the Gaziantep province killed another 16 people, according to local media.
WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT – At least 32 killed in Turkey in separate crashes
At least 32 people were killed in southeast Turkey when vehicles crashed into first responders who were attending two earlier accidents.
Breaking News: US pastor Brunson released by Turkish court
So who is pastor Andrew Brunson and why was he arrested in the first place? TRT World's Caitlin McGee takes a look at the man who was at the centre of a diplomatic storm between Turkey and the United States.
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Breaking News: Explosion occurs in Turkish city of Diyarbakir
There has been an explosion in the Turkish southeastern city of Diyarbakir. The cause of the explosion is still unknown.
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Take a tour of Turkey's dystopian defunct amusement park
Drone video shows the decaying attractions inside Turkey's Wonderland Eurasia, once touted as 'Europe's biggest theme park.'
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Turkish lawmaker smashes phone with hammer
Burak Erbay, a Turkish opposition lawmaker, destroyed a smartphone during his speech in parliament to protest a proposed disinformation and social media bill.
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How Russia performed U-turn on grain deal as Ukraine, UN and Turkey 'united'
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has hailed Russia’s U-turn to rejoin a UN-backed grain export deal as a 'significant diplomatic outcome' that demonstrated 'the failure of Russian aggression'.
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Turkey’s Erdogan: U.S. Must Keep Its Promises In Syria
President Erdogan insisted the Turkish offensive would resume if any Kurdish fighters remained in place. He also said he would not forget the undiplomatic tone of President Trump’s controversial letter.
Taliban rejects reports of a deal with Turkey, Qatar | Afghanistan News
Taliban has rejected reports of a deal with Turkey and Qatar. The denial comes hours after reports claiming that Qatar and Turkey have breached an agreement with Taliban to manage five airports.
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Breaking News: Turkish banker found guilty in US court
The former Halkbank executive Mehmet Hakan Atilla has been convicted on five counts, including bank fraud and conspiracy. He's been acquitted of one money-laundering charge. Atilla was accused of taking part in a complex scheme in which Iran traded its oil and gas for gold, with some of the proceeds moved through U.S. financial institutions without their knowledge. The case has strained ties between the US and Turkey. A senior Turkish official says the verdict against Atilla is void, and that international law has been violated.
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Putin: Russia may leave UN grain deal again, but exports to Turkey are guaranteed
The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, has said his country would not impede the future export of grain through a deal mediated by the UN and Turkey with Ukraine, but that it reserves the right to withdraw if necessary.
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At least 41 killed in coal mine explosion in Turkey
At least 41 people have been killed and 11 injured following a coal mine explosion in Turkey's northern Bartin province.
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Turkey Agrees To Path For Finland And Sweden To Join NATO
Finnish President Sauli Niinisto called it “a very necessary agreement” after signing a joint memorandum addressing Turkish concerns and clearing the way for the two Nordic nations to become NATO members.
Inside Turkey’s Offensive Against Kurdish Forces In Syria
The Turkish military advanced deeper into Kurdish-held northern Syria today, as the death toll from the three-day-old offensive rose, and some 100,000 people have fled their homes, according to the United Nations. Richard Engel is on the ground for us in Syria tonight.
Fists Fly As Lawmakers Brawl In Turkish Parliament
Fighting broke out after a member of the opposition accused President Erdogan of disrespecting Turkish troops killed in Idlib, Syria.
Earthquake Off Coast Of Turkey, Greece Causes Tsunami, Collapsed Buildings
An earthquake off of Turkey’s Aegean coast has collapsed buildings in the city of Izmir. The 7.0 magnitude quake also triggered a mini-tsunami that flooded some of the city’s streets.
Turkey nightclub attack: IS says it carried out shooting
So-called Islamic State says it was behind the new year attack on a Turkish nightclub that killed 39 people.
The group said in a statement it was carried out by "a heroic soldier". At least 600 revelers were celebrating in the early hours of Sunday at Istanbul's Reina nightclub when the gunman began firing indiscriminately.