The lira fell more than 1%, trading to a 2-week low, as political uncertainty continues to weigh on the Turkish economy.
“At the start of a new week of trading the Turkish lira is the weakest link due to rising market concerns that political tension may increase in the coming days/weeks. President Erdogan questioned the validity of the Istanbul vote saying this morning that there are ‘too many’ irregularities and he also cited ‘organized crime,’” wrote Piort Matys, EM FX strategist at Rabobank.
RabobankMatys said bets against the lira could fuel further downside.
“Last, but not least, speculators are also able to bet against the vulnerable Turkish currency without severe restrictions imposed ahead of the crucial local elections on March 31. The CBRT [Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey] resumed weekly repo auctions today and cut FX swaps to 24% from 25.5%,” he added.
In afternoon trade in New York, one dollar fetched 5.6927 lira,USDTRY, -0.1265% down 1.2%, compared with late Friday.
Weakness in lira extended as U.S. equities moved lower at the open, though markets, with the exception of the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -0.32%finished slightly higher.
Meanwhile the ICE Dollar Index, DXY, -0.06% a measure of the greenback’s value against six of rivals, was 0.4% lower at 97.041 as traders bought currencies, viewed as havens, including the Japanese yen and Swiss franc.
The Japanese yen, USDJPY, -0.16% rose 0.3% to ¥111.40 and the Swiss francUSDCHF, -0.0300% added 0.2% to 0.9983.
Elsewhere the British pound GBPUSD, +0.1225% logged small gains at $1.3066 as investors eye whether Prime Minister Theresa May can strike a Brexit deal with the opposition Labour Party.
“If she [Theresa May] could secure an agreement, she would then be expected to head to Brussels to obtain a Brexit deal which may get her a majority in the House of Commons. Until this happens, the danger of a ‘no deal’ happening remains valid,” wrote Dean Popplewell, VP of Market Analysis at Oanda.
The euro EURUSD, +0.0178% benefited from the broad-based dollar weakness, trading to $1.1261 versus $1.1218.
The iShares MSCI Turkey ETF (TUR) . Year-to-date, TUR has declined -42.80%, versus a 8.65% rise in the benchmark S&P 500 index during the same period.
TUR currently has an ETF Daily News SMART Grade of D (Sell), and is ranked #71 of 93 ETFs in the Emerging Markets Equities ETFs category.
This article is brought to you courtesy of MarketWatch.
