Turkish lira tumbles past 13 per dollar again amid economic uncertainty

Turkey's lira tumbled past 13 per dollar once again on Dec. 30, eroding massive gains made last week, as worries about the country's monetary policy weighed on sentiment.

Duvar English 

The Turkish lira weakened by more than 2% early on Dec. 30, eating into the huge gains made in the previous week as investor worries about the country's monetary policy outlook persisted.

The lira tumbled past 13 per dollar from a close of 12.61 on Dec. 29. 

The lira plummeted to record lows this month on widespread concerns about Turkey's monetary policy. It surged some 50% last week after President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced a series of measures to encourage lira-denominated savings, easing the pressure on the beleaguered local currency.

On Dec. 20, Erdoğan said that the government would offer a new financial vehicle that would “alleviate" the concerns of citizens. 

On Dec. 28, Finance Minister Nureddin Nebati rejected that public banks were behind the selling of dollars.

"There were no interventions that night, neither from public banks or anyone," Nebati said.

On Dec. 20, the lira hit an all-time low of 18.4 to the dollar, after a months-long slide prompted by fears of spiraling inflation following a series of interest rate cuts that the president had sought.