Turkish lira, bonds trade stronger on IMF loan agreement hopes

Hurriyet Daily News with wires

refid:11347791 ilişkili resim dosyası

The lira traded slightly above 1.62 levels in morning trade after closing at 1.640 on Wednesday. The yield on the benchmark bond maturing on Nov. 3, 2010, fell to 13.63 percent in pre-opening trade from the previous day's close of 13.95 percent, as the benchmark Istanbul Stock Exchange market also gained some 3 percent.

Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday before heading to London for a G20 summit that he wants to accelerate talks with the IMF, signaling a major loan deal is close.

An IMF deal is crucial for supporting Turkey's external balances and facilitating credit flow to cash-hungry firms, restoring investor confidence and starting a new tide of economic reforms, analysts have said.

'The impression derived from Erdogan's statement that a deal with the IMF is very close reinforced optimism in the Turkish financial markets,' Reuters quoted HSBC strategist Fatih Keresteci as saying.

Erdogan is expected to meet the IMF managing director in London.

Asian stocks rose on Thursday, with investors seeing a sliver of hope the U.S. economy has bottomed, while the euro edged up before a European Central Bank meeting at which rates may be cut for the last time in a while.