Turkey has means to curtail currency shifts: President

By Sibel Ugurlu

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey has means to curtail the currency fluctuations in the short term, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday.

"The exchange rate fluctuations are due to global factors and are not related to Turkey alone," Erdogan said in a meeting with former lawmakers during an iftar (fast-breaking) meal in Ankara.

Erdogan also underlined that partial currency fluctuations were not in line with the economic realities of Turkey.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Turkish Central Bank announced an increase of late liquidity window interest rates by three percentage points. The borrowing rate was kept at 0 percent while the lending rate was increased from 13.50 to 16.50 percent.

The bank's move came after the U.S. dollar/Turkish lira exchange rate hit a historic high on Wednesday, climbing to around 4.93. Following the bank's decision, the dollar/lira rate fell steeply to below 4.60.

In the beginning of the year, the USD/TRY rate was 3.78 while the average rate was 3.65 last year.