Turkish lira flat ahead of central bank meeting

ISTANBUL: Turkey’s lira was flat on Thursday near its weakest level since last December, as investors traded cautiously ahead of the central bank’s policy-setting meeting where it is expected to stand pat on its benchmark rate.

The lira is down 25% this year, in addition to the 44% it lost last year, largely due to a currency crisis sparked by a series of unorthodox rates cuts.

The currency stood at 17.60 against the US dollar at 0530 GMT, flat from its close on Wednesday.

Turkey’s lira tumbles to weakest since December 2021

All 18 economists in a Reuters poll expect the bank to hold the benchmark rate steady at 14%.