ANKARA (Reuters) – The Turkish lira eased on Friday, a day after the central bank raised its benchmark rate by 625 basis points in the biggest such increase in President Tayyip Erdogan’s 15-year rule.
The lira <trytom=d3>, which has lost more than 40 percent of its value this year, had firmed to as far as 6.08 against the U.S. dollar following the rate hike on Thursday, but later weakened slightly in early Friday trade.</trytom=d3>
It stood at 6.13 to the dollar at 0447 GMT.
The central bank’s hefty rate hike on Thursday meant the bank had now increased interest rates by 11.25 percentage points since late April in an attempt to prop up the ailing lira, possibly easing investor concerns over Erdogan’s influence on monetary policy.
