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ISTANBUL: Turkey's lira surged 2% against the US dollar on Monday, after Finance Minister Berat Albayrak said he was resigning for health reasons, the second surprise departure of a top economic policymaker in two days after the central bank chief was ousted.
The lira stood at 8.3650 against the dollar at 0325 GMT, strengthening from a close of 8.5445 on Friday, with analysts saying that the departure of the two top policymakers had set the stage for a sharp interest rate rise. The upheaval follows a 30% slide in the lira to record lows this year amid the Covid-19 pandemic, as investors worried about falling forex reserves and the central bank's ability to tackle double-digit inflation.-Reuters