ISTANBUL: The Turkish lira weakened again on Friday and the government promised reforms after a volatile week that brought back memories of last year's currency crisis with Turks heading to polls this weekend.
Turkey's currency was down 1.1 percent after having tumbled 5 percent on Thursday. The weakness, after a strong rebound earlier in the week, reflected a return of liquidity to a key London foreign-exchange market where investors use swaps to hedge and settle positions.
Among an array of tactics used to stabilize things since an initial selloff last Friday, the government had directed banks to temporarily starve the London market of lira liquidity, according to officials.
In a TV interview late on Thursday, Finance Minister Berat Albayrak said Turkish banks were providing billions of lira to foreign markets and promised Turkey would enter a reform period after the elections. .
But with Turkish stocks having plunged to their lowest levels since January and yields on bonds up to October levels, analysts raised doubts about a quick fix for an economy in the midst of a recession that could last well into this year.
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