The Turkish lira slid 1 percent to beyond 15.65 against the dollar on Monday, slipping for an eighth consecutive session towards the lowest levels it hit in December after a series of interest rate cuts, Reuters reported.
The currency weakened as far as 15.6605 before edging back to 15.595 by 1235 GMT. It has lost 16 percent of its value against the US currency this year after a slide of 44 percent in 2021.
The war in Ukraine began to exert pressure on the lira in March as Western sanctions on Russia sent energy prices soaring, pushing up Turkey’s already hefty import bill.
Illustrating the pressures, Turkey’s current account deficit in March widened to $5.554 billion, central bank data showed on Monday, exceeding a Reuters poll forecast of $5.371 billion.
The currency crisis last year was triggered by an aggressive easing cycle that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan sought despite rising inflation. That, along with the war fallout, pushed inflation to 70 percent in April.
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