Turkish Central Bank takes step to support lira

By Tuba Sahin

ANKARA (AA) - Giving extra support to the local Turkish lira, Turkey's Central Bank on Wednesday said it has decided to boost the volume of its daily foreign exchange deposits auction to $1.5 billion.

"The daily amount of foreign exchange deposits against Turkish lira deposits auctions has been increased from $1.25 billion to $1.5 billion," the bank said in a statement.

The bank said the maximum outstanding deposit amount in auctions may reach up to $7.5 billion, from the current level of $6.25 billion.

It also updated the calendar of Turkish lira-settled forward foreign exchange sale auctions to be held in the second quarter.

The auction calendar was given on the Central Bank's website.

"During this period, the maximum total amount of forward foreign exchange sale position may increase from its current level of $5.3 billion to $7.1 billion," it said.

The move came after the U.S. dollar/Turkish lira exchange rate saw its historic high, climbing over 4.3700 at Wednesday's market opening.