Turkish Lira keeps sliding against dollar, euro

ISTANBUL

The Turkish Lira dropped past 4 per U.S. dollar for the second time in its history early on March 28, coming closer to record levels. The lira plunged to 4.0012 against the U.S. dollar, falling 0.45 percent in the early hours of the trading hours in Turkey, according to Doğan News Agency.

The lira also slumped to 4.9643 with a fall of 0.31 percent in the morning, coming to the edge of the record level.

The Turkish currency fell to a record low of 4.0375 against the dollar on March 23 in the Asian markets, according to Reuters.

The lira’s weakness has been in a slump since the credit agency Moody’s downgraded Turkey’s sovereign rating to Ba2 from Ba1 on March 7. On March 8, the lira fell as much as 0.4 percent to 3.81 per dollar.

Ongoing concerns of trade wars between the U.S., China and Europe, drops in technology stocks, and other geopolitical developments are pointed as other reasons of currency fluctuations in the international markets. On March 28, a higher-than-expected U.S. growth data also fueled the dollar’s hands.  Gross domestic product expanded at a 2.9 percent annual rate in the final three months of 2017, the Commerce Department said.