Turkish lira collapses … the biggest loss since 1999

Today, the Turkish lira decreased dangerously, reaching 8.06 liras against the US dollar, which is a psychologically critical level.

The US Bloomberg Agency reported today that the Turkish lira fell 0.5 percent to reach 8,0006 liras to the US dollar at 9:24 am in Istanbul, to continue losing after a nine-week decline, the biggest loss since 1999.

The currency has been hit by low real prices and dwindling interest of foreign investors in Turkish assets, as the country faces the risk of US sanctions, conflicts in the eastern Mediterranean and Caucasus, and the disastrous economic situation caused by the corona pandemic.

Turkey has already spent foreign exchange reserves faster than any other major developing economy in an attempt to support the currency, and foreign investors sold $ 13.3 billion of Turkish stocks and bonds this year, as the lira lost more than 25% of its value this year, which is the worst performing currency in the markets. Emerging after the Brazilian Real.

As the Turkish currency continues to deteriorate, Bloomberg said that Turkish Airlines will place foreign pilots on unpaid leave to mitigate the impact of the virus pandemic on its finances, according to company emails reviewed by the agency.

The Turkish airline informed some of the foreign crew members that their leave starts on November 1, and that the decision will be reviewed after six months.

It was not immediately clear whether the Turkish employees would also be affected, and a spokesperson for the company declined to comment, and the trade union, which represents about 75% of the airline’s 30,000 employees, was not immediately clear.

The Turkish currency has lost more than 3.5 percent of its value this year after it plunged about forty percent during the past two years as a result of the high levels of Turkey’s foreign debt in light of the failed economic policies of the Turkish regime’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Haifaa Mafalani