Turkish assets mixed as central.bank cuts forex buying auctions

ISTANBUL: Turkish assets were mixed on Wednesday, showing little reaction to the Central Bank's expected move to cut its daily forex buying auctions to $30 million from $40 million.

By 0950 GMT the lira was little changed at 1.6410 per dollar, from a close of 1.6418 on Tuesday, and hovering around 26-month lows struck earlier this week.

The lira's weakness stems from doubts about the central bank's dovish policy in the face of rising inflation, and widening external deficits, together with reduced risk appetite among emerging market investors due to the Greek debt crisis.

Turkey's benchmark Feb. 20, 2013 bond yield rose to 9.19 percent from 9.18 percent on Tuesday.

The main Istanbul share index was up 0.1 percent at 62,875.20, underperforming the emerging markets benchmark index which rose 0.8 percent.

The central bank faces growing calls for action to cool an economy that analysts say looks to be overheating following a series of experimental policy moves to rein in credit growth.

Economist Levent Durusoy at Yatirim Finansman said the auction move came late.

"This may provide short-term relief but I have question marks about it being a tool of monetary tightening as the central bank puts it."

In order to support the lira the bank has several options he added: "a rate hike is one option but it seems the bank does not think it is necessary. Also, if we are in an inflation-targeting framework the bank should be clearer on the future path of core inflation and state whether it will stay below target or not."

Like markets elsewhere on Wednesday, Turkey's were supported ahead of a vote in the Greek parliament that investors hope will approve an austerity programme demanded by international lenders.

Domestic political tension was also on investors' radar, however.

The lira weakened on Tuesday after the opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) and minority Kurds boycotted parliament's swearing-in to protest against bans on elected candidates.

"All in all, we expect this political bottleneck to be overcome and the markets seem to agree," said Ekspres Invest in a note.

The boycott meant more than 30 percent of elected MPs refused to take their oath as parliament convened for the first time since Turkey's June 12 election.

The boycotts by the main opposition party CHP and the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) could force mass by-elections and stoke separatist violence in the restive, mainly Kurdish, southeast.

Attention in Turkish financial markets shifted towards first-quarter economic growth data due on Thursday.

Turkey's economy continued to boom in the first three months of 2011, and is expected to have expanded by an annual 9.65 percent according to the median forecast in a Reuters poll of 18 analysts.

Among shares in focus cement maker Afyon Cimento rose 9.2 percent to 130 lira after owner Ciments Francais hired an adviser to sell a stake in Afyon.

Copyright Reuters, 2011