STORY: Turkish currency hits fresh low against greenback
SHOOTING TIME: Nov. 30, 2023
DATELINE: Dec. 1, 2023
LENGTH: 0:01:11
LOCATION: ISTANBUL, Türkiye
CATEGORY: ECONOMY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of Istanbul city in Türkiye
2. various of Exchange office in Istanbul, Information including Turkish lira and US dollar value information at the exchange office in Türkiye
3. various of exchange office, clerk in exchange office counting U.S. dollars in Istanbul, Türkiye
4. various of Turkish Central Bank
5. various of Hafize Gaye Erkan, the Turkish Central Bank governor
6. various of Turkish Central Bank, Turkish lira

STORYLINE:

The Turkish currency hit a fresh low against the U.S. dollar on Thursday, trading at nearly 29 liras per dollar.

After fluctuating around the 29 thresholds in the early morning trading, the lira stood at 28.95 against the greenback at 11:15 a.m. local time (0815 GMT).

The currency has lost about 35 percent of its value against the dollar since the beginning of this year.

The lira hit 31.90 against the euro on Thursday morning and later dropped to 31.55.

The Turkish central bank increased its policy rate by 500 basis points to 40 percent on Nov. 23 to curb the lira's devaluation and tame the persistent inflation, which climbed to 61.36 percent in October.

Between June and October, the central bank aggressively raised interest rates from 8.5 to 35 percent.

Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek said exchange rate volatility is gradually decreasing in Türkiye with the measures taken. On Wednesday, Simsek told the TRT broadcaster that the volatility was almost 57 percent in May but fell below 8 percent in November.

Hafize Gaye Erkan, the Turkish Central Bank governor, said on Wednesday that the demand for the national currency savings instruments and deposit accounts is on the rise, stressing that Türkiye has been working determinedly for disinflation.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Istanbul, Türkiye.
(XHTV)