Lira Falls to Record Low as U.S. Sanctions Two Turkish Officials
- Currency trades near key psychological level of 5 per dollar
- U.S said to have prepared list of sanction targets in Turkey
The lira slumped to a record low as the U.S. imposed sanctions on two Turkish ministers over the continued detention of an American pastor.
The sanctions target Turkey’s Minister of Justice Abdulhamit Gul and Minister of Interior Suleyman Soylu, both of whom “played leading roles in the organizations responsible for the arrest and detention of Pastor Andrew Brunson,” the U.S. Treasury Department said in a statement. The currency slumped as much as 2.1 percent to 5.0157 per dollar after two people familiar with the matter said the U.S. has prepared a list of Turkish entities and individuals to target should it decide to impose sanctions on Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government.
Turkey remains particularly exposed to shifts in investor sentiment, given its large external financing needs. Any slowdown in capital flows triggered by such a move could weigh on the currency and bonds.