Markets

Turkish lira weakens as Erdogan defiant on protests

Published June 7, 2013 Updated June 7, 2013 06:07am

ISTANBUL: The Turkish lira softened to its weakest level against its euro/dollar basket since October 2011 on Friday after Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's defiant response to a week of fierce anti-government protests.

The currency hit a level of 2.21 in early trade, compared with 2.1780 on Thursday before Erdogan commented on the demonstrations and his plans to redevelop Istanbul's Taksim Square.