The Turkish lira has reached a fresh all-time low against the U.S. dollar on 219 of the past 260 trading days, highlighting the extraordinary consistency of its depreciation. The currency recently weakened beyond 48 lira per dollar, extending a decline that has pushed USD/TRY to successive records throughout the past year.
The slide has been relatively gradual rather than disorderly, as Turkey’s central bank maintains tight monetary policy while using foreign-exchange interventions and other tools to limit excessive volatility. Persistent inflation continues to weigh on the currency despite progress in slowing price growth.
The lira’s almost continuous sequence of record lows illustrates the challenge facing policymakers: maintaining restrictive financial conditions and reducing inflation while avoiding destabilizing moves in the exchange rate and broader economy.
