Economics

Lira Plunges to Records as Asia Traders Sell on Trade Fears

Japanese retail investors holding lira selling: FPG Securities
Further currency drop may prompt rate hikes: Capital Economics

Turkish Lira As Market Slide Puts Central Bank Back In The Spotlight — Photographer: Kostas Tsironis/Bloomberg

Provide news feedback or report an error

Confidential tip?

Send a tip to our reporters

Site feedback:

Take our Survey

By Tugce Ozsoy and Fercan Yalinkilic

March 23, 2018 at 6:56 AM UTC

Updated on

March 23, 2018 at 9:37 AM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

Turkey’s lira weakened to a record low Friday as investor concern mounts that U.S. President Donald Trump is taking steps to initiate a global trade war.

The currency tumbled past 4 per dollar for the first time, falling to as low as 4.0361 before trading 0.7 percent lower at 3.9614 at 12:30 p.m. in Istanbul. It plunged as much as 3 percent against the yen and also hit a new record 4.9778 against the euro. The drop during Asian trading hours was probably due to stop-loss orders from Japanese retail investors holding lira trades against the yen, said Koji Fukaya, chief executive officer at FPG Securities in Tokyo.