Turkish State Banks Ramp Up Dollar Sales to Aid Lira

(Bloomberg) -- Turkish government-owned lenders sold at least $300 million to support the currency after a bigger-than-expected rate cut piled pressure on the lira, according to two traders with knowledge of the matter.

• Interventions come as the lira tests the psychologically important 7-per-dollar mark, a level it hasn’t crossed since the August 2018 currency crisis
  • USD/TRY rose as much as 0.3% to 6.9991 per dollar; all-time high is at 7.2362
• NOTE: Turkey’s state lenders don’t comment on interventions in the foreign-exchange market. In January, central bank Governor Murat Uysal said government-owned lenders have been carrying out transactions in line with regulatory limits and may continue to be active in the currency market.

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