Hedge Fund Looks for Bottom in Turkish Lira

North Asset Management looks for cue from Turkish central bank
Stable currency would promise lucrative returns, Kisler says

An employee hands 200 Turkish lira banknotes to a customer on the counter inside a foreign currency exchange bureau in the Beyoglu district of of Istanbul, Turkey, on Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2020. A day after the latest call from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for lower borrowing costs to boost economic growth, the central bank reduced the cheaper liquidity it provides to primary dealers as part of its open market operations to zero from Aug. 12, according to a statement on Tuesday.Photographer: Kerem Uzel/Bloomberg

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By Selcuk Gokoluk and Nishant Kumar

August 19, 2020 at 4:00 AM UTC

Updated on

August 19, 2020 at 12:14 PM UTC

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Hedge fund manager Peter Kisler is looking to this week’s Turkish central-bank meeting for a signal to start buying the lira.

The question is whether Turkey will let its currency weaken further or hike rates to defend it, said North Asset Management’s Kisler. The London-based investor sold all its Turkish assets before capital outflows started accelerating in March, fueling the lira’s decline to a record against the dollar.