Pound hits record highs as rate cut puts Turkey on uncertain path

ANKARA, Sept. 24 (Reuters) – The Turkish lira hit an all-time low against the dollar on Friday, in the wake of an unexpected interest rate cut by the central bank, reinforcing growing concerns over the influence of the President Tayyip Erdogan on monetary policy.

The currency, prone to sharp depreciations and trailing emerging markets for several years, closed at a session low of 8.8995 per dollar, from its previous closing high of 8.775 at the end of June and its highest. intraday low of 8.88 in early June.

The brutal central bank decision on Thursday to ease monetary policy as Erdogan wanted, despite rising inflation, triggered a nearly 3% drop in the currency this week. This month’s drop is 6.5% so far.

Foreign investors fleeing the currency drove the fall, but local bargain hunting dampened the effect, traders said.

After a currency crisis in 2018 and a series of massive sell-offs, the pound has lost two-thirds of its value in five years, chipping away at the incomes of Turks who have also faced double-digit inflation for most of this year. period.

On Thursday, the pound plunged into volatile trading as the central bank cut its policy rate 100 basis points to 18%, despite headline inflation of 19.25% last month, well above a target of 5%. Read more

The bank cited core price measures, which had fallen below 17%, but provided no policy guidance. Barclays, JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs have said they expect more rate cuts in the coming months.

“This sharp drop in the pound is a clear signal from market participants that the central bank may be making a policy error at a time when headline inflation is so high,” said Piotr Matys, senior currency analyst at InTouch Capital. Markets.

After years of exodus of foreign funds from Turkish assets, the fate of the lira is largely in the hands of local businesses, investors and savers.

Turks’ holdings of foreign currency and gold have risen steadily in recent years to a record high of over $ 238 billion this month as locals protected their savings.

“The central bank’s move put the pound under strong selling pressure. But seeing it as an opportunity, sales of local currencies of at least $ 1 billion were the main factor limiting the losses,” said an merchant who requested anonymity.

Locals also bought the lira in March when it plunged after Erdogan sacked a hawkish central bank chief and installed Sahap Kavcioglu as governor.

Kavcioglu started giving dovish signals at the start of the month, but few economists polled by Reuters expected Thursday’s decision given the high inflation.

Analysts said if the bank cuts rates too sharply, it will either have to revert to tightening or push state banks to step in to protect the pound.

Foreign investors hold just over 5% of Turkish government bonds, up from over 20% five years ago.

Reporting by Nevzat Devranoglu and Ali Kucukgocmen; Additional reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu, Marc Jones and Rodrigo Campos; Written by Jonathan Spicer; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Cynthia Osterman

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