Turkish lira plunges 14pc after Central Bank governor sacked

The Turkish lira has depreciated by 14 percent since Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan fired the country's central bank governor.

In recent days, Governor Naci Aqbal's role in keeping the lira stable has been hailed as crucial, but in a surprise move, President Erdogan sacked him on Saturday.

The currency fell to as low as 8.47 per US dollar in early trade Monday, having closed at 7.22 at the end of last week, after Naci Agbal was replaced by former ruling party lawmaker Sahap Kavcioglu.

Aqbal is the third person to hold the post of central bank governor in the last two years. He was appointed last year in November and was pursuing a policy of raising the interest rate to control inflation.

His removal comes as a surprise to both local and international investors who have been praising Turkey's recent monetary policy.

There was a time when the lira was considered the best currency of 2021 among emerging marquee currencies and its value against the US dollar had risen by almost 20%. It became even stronger last week after Aqbal raised interest rates by 2pc, almost double what economists expected.

Sahap Kavcioglu is reported to be appointed as the governor of the Central Bank. Kavcioglu is a professor of banking and a former lawmaker from the ruling party.