Turkey Burns $10 Billion in Lira’s Defense Over Global Tariff Rout
An employee counts 200 Turkish lira banknotes at a currency exchange bureau in Istanbul, Turkey, on Jan. 10, 2025.
Photographer: Kerem Uzel/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
The market turmoil triggered by Donald Trump’s tariff plans has probably cost Turkey another $10 billion in foreign-exchange reserves, adding to losses incurred last month amid a domestic political crisis.
Dollar sales by state banks to defend the lira cost between $10 billion to $11 billion since last Friday, according to estimates by two bankers who oversee execution of foreign-exchange trades. The pressure on the currency eased slightly on Thursday after Trump announced a pause on tariffs, they said, asking not to be named because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly.