ISTANBUL: Turkey's lira rose on Monday after the central bank said it would hold auctions to sell the dollar to support the local currency after it hit record lows last week.
The central bank said it would hold dollar-selling auctions of at least $150 million on days when it provides lira funding at its policy rate, in a bid to keep interest rates low without weakening the currency.
The lira firmed to 1.9405 against the dollar by 1115 GMT from 1.9470 before the central bank announcement.
The currency hit an historic low of 1.9499 to the dollar last week, tracking an emerging markets sell-off triggered by the US Federal Reserve signalling it would wind down its bond-buying stimulus programme, and by anti-government protests at home.
The 10-year benchmark bond yield rose to 8.91 percent from a last trade of 8.65 percent on Friday.
At an auction on Monday, Turkey's Treasury sold a June 20, 2018 fixed-coupon bond at a yield of 8.93 percent, and a May 3, 2023 CPI-linked bond at a yield of 2.95 percent in a tap.
The main Istanbul stock index fell 0.48 percent to 72,766 points, with shares in Turkish mobile operator Turkcell among the heaviest losers, down 1.8 percent.
Turkcell again failed to hold an annual general meeting on Monday due to a long-running dispute between major shareholders, prompting a rebuke from its biggest owner.
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