ISTANBUL: Turkey's lira set a new record low against the US dollar on Thursday as investors worried about the government's economic policies and dollar reserves appeared to be running low. The lira was trading at 7.29 against the greenback around 1400 GMT, suffering a loss of more than 3.5 percent since the start of the day - the lowest since May when it reached a then-record low of 7.24.
Since January 1, the Turkish currency has lost nearly 20 percent of its value against the dollar. The lira also recorded its lowest level against the euro, trading 8.64 against the European currency at 1400 GMT, amounting to a nearly 3.5 percent depreciation.
The new fall comes as markets worry about a meltdown in the foreign currency reserves at Turkey's central bank, which appears to have spent lavishly in recent months to prop up the national currency.
State banks were also pushed to sell dollars to help the weakening lira. An economic slowdown due to the novel coronavirus pandemic hit Turkey hard just as it was trying to recover from its first recession in a decade.
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