Turkey’s lira firms, extends recovery

ISTANBUL

Turkey’s lira firmed nearly 1 percent on Oct. 29, extending its recent rally after investor worries were partially eased.

The lira, which slumped in August and at one stage was down 47 percent since the start of the year, has recovered some of those steep losses.

The Central Bank’s 6.25 percentage point rate hike in September eased concerns over its independence and the release of U.S. pastor Andrew Brunson from house arrest in Turkey two weeks ago signaled an improvement in ties with Washington.

The lira reached 5.5050 early on Oct. 29 against the U.S. dollar, its strongest in more than 2.5 months. The lira was 5.5065 against the dollar on Oct. 30 afternoon, firming after seeing 5.5522 during the day.

Meanwhile, the dollar hit a new 2.5-month high on Oct. 30, supported by worries about an escalation of the Sino-U.S. trade war and more signs the U.S. economy is outperforming rivals, while weak euro zone growth knocked the single currency lower.

The dollar, measured against a basket of its peers, rose 0.3 percent to 96.926, its strongest since Aug. 15.