Turkey Plans Weak Lira, Moves to Narrow Current-Account Gap

Turkey will allow the lira to weaken and give incentives to manufacturers of car parts and steel in an effort to narrow a record current-account deficit that may threaten financial stability.

Measures to encourage domestic production and reduce dependence on scrap-metal imports will be ready by the end of the year, Zafer Caglayan, the minister responsible for exports and manufacturing, said in a speech to journalists today in Istanbul. Budget discipline will remain the government’s “biggest weapon” against the widening gap, he said.