Turkey’s troubled lira shed a further five percent against the dollar Monday, after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan cited Muslim teachings to justify not raising interest rates to stabilise the currency.
Erdogan has pushed the central bank to sharply lower borrowing costs despite the annual rate of inflation soaring to more than 20 percent.
Economists believe the policy could see consumer price increases reach 30 percent or higher in the coming months.
But Erdogan said in remarks aired by state television late Sunday that his Muslim faith prevented him from supporting rate hikes.—AFP
