Lira soars against US dollar after thwarted coup attempt

ANKARA (AA) – The Turkish lira soared nearly 2.50 percent against the U.S. dollar in the early hours of Monday morning following a statement made by Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Simsek after Friday's unsuccessful military coup attempt.

The USD/TRY rate had broken the psychological barrier of 3 Turkish liras to reach 3.05 late Friday following the airing of the statement from the coup plotters on state broadcaster Turkish Radio and TV Corporation (TRT).

In the first hours of Monday morning, however, the USD/TRY rate dipped to 2.9385 from 3.05 liras, down 2.49 percent.

Speaking to a private TV channel, Simsek said in the early hours Monday that he did not expect the coup would have a permanent effect in neither growth nor foreign trade balance.

“Our country, our democracy, our political stability have been strengthened. The road in front of Turkey is clear. We will return to our structural reform agenda very quickly,” he said.

Turkey’s Central Bank said Sunday that it would cut the commission on daily liquidity options for banks to zero as well as provide them with unlimited liquidity to maintain efficient functioning of the financial markets following Friday’s failed coup.