The Turkish lira continues to decline

The Turkish lira fell 0.4 percent against the dollar on Tuesday, amid fears of rising inflation due to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s pledge to keep cutting interest rates.

In a speech on Monday evening, Erdogan sought to downplay the rise in annual consumer prices to 73 percent last month as just one of several problems for the economy that should begin to subside early next year.

The lira fell to 16.669 against the dollar, after closing at 16.58 on Monday. The Turkish currency has fallen 21 percent this year, in addition to its 44 percent decline in 2021 after a series of unconventional interest rate cuts despite high inflation.

Speaking after a cabinet meeting, Erdogan said Turkey would not raise interest rates but would continue to lower them in the face of the rising cost of living.