In what seems to be a regular reoccurrence, the Turkish lira struck rock bottom again early this week, arriving at its all-time lowest value; The news comes despite Erdogan’s vow to maintain low interest rates; Erdogan: Don’t expect anything else from me.
Turkey was hit with more bad news early this week amid the country’s currency, the lira, reaching an all-time low in value against the US dollar. On Monday, the currency approached 17.97 liras to one US dollar, which is just shy of a 10% drop from where the value stood near the end of last week.
The drop in value occurred despite Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s announcement that interest rates would remain low. The president stated on Sunday, in conjunction with the vow of low interest rates and decreased inflation, “Don’t expect anything else from me,” referring to Islamic principles to support his case. He also added, “As a Muslim, I will continue doing what our religion tells us. This is the command.”
Upon receiving criticism from a group of some of Turkey’s elite businesses, Erdogan replied, “You have one duty, and that is investment, production, employment and growth. Don’t seek different ways to attack the government…You cannot win a fight against us.”
Following a host of reports concerning the lira’s depreciation over the last few years, U.S. News reported that Turkey’s currency has dropped more than 55% since the onset of 2021.
