Turkish central bank boosts lira

Turkey's central bank supported the lira on Thursday selling $350 million in a forex auction, having sent a strong signal to the market by saying it could sell up to $1.35 billion, as Governor Erdem Basci said "actions speak louder than words". However, the lira surrendered some of its gains as the $350 million actually sold was relatively low compared to total bids amounting to a massive $2.038 billion.
The lira, which had lost almost 20 percent of its value to the dollar this year, strengthened to 1.8475 against the greenback by 1415 GMT from 1.8665 a day earlier bringing gains to 2.7 percent since Tuesday's record 1.9 record low. But it was well off its intraday level of 1.83, the strongest the lira has been since September 23, and weaker than a minimum rate of 1.8340 at auction.