The Turkish lira is breaking new and new negative records. It depreciates literally for hours. “Soon Turks will sleep with dollars under their pillows,” an economic expert was quoted as saying by Deutsche Welle.
Since the beginning of the cold months, an unusual smell has been wafting over Istanbul. Since commodity and energy prices have exploded, many have been heating with coal or wood – natural gas has now become a luxury. Residents of the city of 15 million are worried that heavy smoke from burnt coal is dangerous to health. On some days, the metropolis near the Bosphorus is already covered in thick smog.
Dissatisfaction is growing among the Turkish population that the policy is failing to contain the huge inflation and the price fluctuations caused by it. Attempts to counter the Turkish government in both economic and monetary policy have had no effect. Nevertheless, Turkey’s Central Bank has once again cut the key interest rate from 16 per cent to 15 per cent.
The Central Bank’s exchange rate is largely influenced by President Erdogan, who has repeatedly said he is an enemy of high interest rates.
Economist Soner Kourou draws attention to the fact that the market and people have long adjusted to the expected steady decline in key interest rates. “People are trying in every way to save their money from inflation. But even if they buy gold, it still leads to an indirect increase in the exchange rate, because the precious metal is dependent on the dollar,” he explained.
The expert says that Turks have been exposed to constantly rising dollar values since 2013. That is why more and more people are trying to save their savings by converting them into foreign currency. “In the future, people will sleep with dollars under their pillows. We live in a time when even those who have never made deals with dollars are now starting to look for salvation for their money there,” Kuru said.
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