The Turkish lira falls to a record low against the dollar

The Turkish lira fell to an all-time low against the dollar during early trading Monday, September 26, bringing its losses so far this year to more than 28% and continuing its decline after an unexpected interest rate cut last week.

The lira price reached 18.4440 against the dollar as of 04:53 GMT, down from its level at the close on Friday, which amounted to 18.4280.

The lira earlier fell to a record low of 18.4450.

The central bank unexpectedly cut its benchmark interest rate by 100 basis points last week to 12%, citing an economic slowdown despite inflation rising to more than 80% in August.

This reduction came in contrast to analysts’ expectations, as markets had expected the Central Bank of Turkey to maintain the interest rate at 13% without making any change.

Data showed Turkey’s annual inflation rate rose to a 24-year high of 80.21% in August, after the central bank decided to cut interest rates unexpectedly last month, but the data remained below expectations.