Economics
Someone Bet Big That Lira’s Rough Ride Is Start of Bad Year
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Just as Turkish state banks rushed in to contain a rout in the lira last week, at least one fund was putting in a big wager that the slide was only getting started.
A $500 million call-spread was executed minutes after the lira buckled past the 6-per-dollar-mark last Friday, according to data from the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation. It stands to pay out if the lira depreciates to between 6.5 and 7.3 per dollar by Aug. 7 -- potentially pushing past a record low of 7.2362.