Turkey lira at new lows despite central bank action

The Turkish lira broke through the key barrier of 2.3 to the dollar on Friday despite massive central bank intervention on foreign exchange markets the day before. The currency sank to 2.3084 against the greenback before recovering slightly to 2.3054 and hit 3.1561 to the euro before clambering back to 3.1502. The fall came just a day after the central bank ploughed at least $2 billion into the foreign exchange markets to try to prop up the lira. The Tukish currency has been hitting record lows almost daily this year, under pressure from an escalating political crisis and concerns about the economy. It has lost over 10 percent since mid-December in turmoil not seen since the 2000-2001 financial meltdown, and economists forecast that further falls are on the cards.