Dollar rallies against lira, hitting eight-month high

ISTANBUL

The Turkish Lira has opened the new week by continuing its downfall against the U.S. dollar, touching a fresh eight-month low, as the greenback’s worldwide rally is resuming.

The lira/dollar ratio has soared up to 2.2840 in the morning of Sept. 29, causing the lira to see its weakest point since January-end. The ratio was hovering around 2.2830 as od 12:00 a.m.

The downfall marks an approximate 6 percent decline in the value of the lira against the dollar since the beginning of the month.

The lira/dollar ratio was around 2.15 in early September, but the increasing signals that indicated the U.S. Federal Reserves may increase the interest rates earlier and quicker than expected has given a strong boost to the dollar over the past few weeks.

The rise in the dollar this month has put all emerging market currencies under pressure.

However, the lira has also been under pressure from tensions on Turkey’s border with Syria, where the United States has led air strikes against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) militants.