Buying the Turkish lira, according to one analyst, is like “catching a falling knife.” Writing imaginative headlines about the currency’s unceasing ability to hit new lows, however, is even harder.
The currency’s problem is as much political as it is economic. In June, president Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s reelection ushered him into office with newly expanded powers. One of his first moves was to appoint his son-in-law to lead the country’s newly combined treasury and finance ministry.
Erdogan has also increased his influence over Turkey’s central bank. He has long made his hatred of higher interest rates known. In May, he called them the “mother and father of all evil.” As far back as June 2013, he blamed the “interest rate lobby” for orchestrating protests in Istanbul. This pressure has made the country’s central bank reluctant to do one of the main things central banks do when a country’s currency is tumbling: raise interest rates. That has led to soaring inflation—and years of exasperated, and altogether interchangeable, Financial Times headlines about the lira setting yet another all-time low (all paywalled):
Aug. 6, 2018 Turkish lira plumbs new low after central bank’s policy tweak
Aug. 3, 2018 Turkish lira hits fresh historic low
Aug. 1, 2018 Turkey’s lira weakens to fresh record low against dollar
July 11, 2018 Turkish lira hits record low against the dollar
June 15, 2018 Turkish lira slides almost 6% in worst week in a decade
May 24, 2018 Turkish lira resumes slide despite rate hike
May 22, 2018 Lira swings to new record low in abrupt move
May 21, 2018 Turkish lira extends declines with heavy drop to new record
May 15, 2018 Turkish lira touches yet another low as Moody’s warns on bank risk
May 14, 2018 Lira hits low after Erdogan stamps authority on monetary policy
May 3, 2018 Turkish lira sinks to new record low as inflation rises
Apr. 10, 2018 Turkish lira strikes another record low on growing outflow fears
Apr. 9, 2018 Turkish lira hits new low as Erdogan chases high growth
Apr. 6, 2018 Turkish lira hits record low as political risks cast pall
Nov. 21, 2017 Turkey’s central bank takes action as lira hits record low
Jan. 11, 2017 Lira suffers 4% plunge – steepest since failed coup
Jan. 5, 2017 Turkish lira suffers fresh blow amid ratings junking fears
Jan. 3, 2017 Turkish lira falls to record low as higher inflation spurs selling
Dec. 1, 2016 Turkish lira slumps back towards record low after Opec deal
Nov. 8, 2016 Turkish lira rout deepens to hit fresh all-time low
Nov. 7, 2016 Turkish lira hits lowest level since at least 1981
Oct. 28, 2016 Turkish lira at another record low
Oct. 17, 2016 Turkish lira hits record low (again)
Oct. 13, 2016 Turkish lira sinks to fresh all-time low
Oct. 10, 2016 Turkish lira tumbles towards record low
July 20, 2016 Turkish lira falls to new record low on S&P downgrade
July 15, 2016 Turkish lira in steepest fall since 2008
June 8, 2015 Turkish lira hits low after election
Apr. 24, 2015 Turkish lira sinks to record low
Apr. 15, 2015 Turkish lira hits record dollar low
Dec. 14, 2014 Turkish lira hits all-time low as Erdogan takes EU to task
Jan. 16, 2014 Turkish lira hits new record low vs dollar
Sep. 5, 2013 Turkey opts for stable interest rates as lira hits record low