Türkiye supports NATO’s 5% defence goal, says it exceeds 2% benchmark
Türkiye supports NATO's new 5% defence spending target and says it has already surpassed the previous 2% benchmark, according to a Turkish defense ministry source.
Turkey's lira fell as much as 12.7% and touched a new all-time low of 42 to the dollar on Wednesday, with bonds and stocks also tumbling sharply, after authorities detained President Tayyip Erdogan's main political rival.
The move against Ekrem Imamoglu, the mayor of Istanbul, was called "a coup attempt" by the opposition and appears to cap an aggressive months-long legal crackdown on opposition figures across the country which has been condemned as a politicised attempt to silence dissent.
Imamoglu was expected to be named as the main opposition's presidential candidate within days.
The lira traded at 38.90 to the dollar at 1016 GMT, from a close of 36.67 on Tuesday, having recouped some of the losses from the all-time low it hit earlier - but still having had its biggest decline since July 2023. The earlier tumble to 42 marked one of the lira's largest absolute intraday moves on record.
Turkey's international government bonds also came under pressure with longer-dated maturities suffering the sharpest falls.
"In Turkey this morning, bonds and FX are coming under pressure after a potential presidential candidate, the mayor of Istanbul, was arrested," said Frantisek Taborsky, EMEA FX & fixed income strategist at ING.
"(Turkey's lira) is the most heavily positioned carry-trade in the emerging markets space at the moment in our view, and a sharp move could potentially lead to further outflows. On the other hand, we should see local banks providing some FX support."
Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek said they were doing everything necessary to ensure healthy functioning of the markets, without giving further details.
Bankers calculate that the Turkish central bank sold a minimum of $5 billion in FX after lira's crash, while some say it may have already reached $10 billion for the day.
Analysts and investors were also concerned about the knock on effect for monetary policy, worrying that the sharp decline in the lira could delay or halt the rate-cutting cycle since the central bank has been ensuring real appreciation of the currency for months.
The central bank had in December embarked on an easing cycle for the first time after an 18-month tightening effort that reversed years of unorthodox economic policies and easy money championed by Erdogan, which had seen the economy run red hot and inflation exceeding 70%. Erdogan has supported the steps by the central bank for a more orthodox policy.
"With this FX shock they need to keep rates where they are for now," one banker said.
Stocks also crashed, reflecting investor worries over rule of law. Turkish blue-chip stocks (.XU100), opens new tab fell by nearly 6%, set for their worst daily performance since late 2023.
The banking sub-index (.XBAN), opens new tab declined 9.67%. Borsa Istanbul said trading was halted temporarily after the main BIST 100 index fell 6.87% in early trading and the market-wide circuit breaker was triggered.
"A wave of selling was triggered after Imamoglu's diploma was annulled and he was detained. There have been foreign investor inflows in recent days ... but political uncertainty currently prevails and concerns about foreign investors leaving the country have increased," Serhat Baskurt, algorithmic operations manager at ALB Yatırım, said.
Baskurt said he expected the decline on the stock exchange to continue over the coming days.
Borsa Istanbul said that the uptick rule on short sale transactions for the BIST 50 index would be used on Wednesday. The rule requires short sales to be conducted at a higher price than the previous trade.
Iran launched 18 ballistic missiles late Sunday targeting the U.S. military’s Al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar, the largest American installation in the Middle East.
Iranian missiles struck multiple locations across Israel and neighbouring regions early Friday morning, including a Microsoft office complex, according to emergency responders and local media reports.
A high-speed tram derailment in central Gothenburg, Sweden, has left at least eight people injured late on Thursday (19 June), after the vehicle slammed into a snack bar on Avenyn Avenue.
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Shell has denied reports that it is in talks to acquire BP in a historic £60 billion deal, despite ongoing market speculation about a potential merger between the two oil giants.
Universal’s new theme park in Bedford, UK has secured a government support package worth around £500 million ($686 million) for rail and road upgrades, as part of a wider package to boost infrastructure ahead of the park’s planned 2031 opening.
Australia will not raise its defence spending targets despite pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump, choosing instead to follow its own military strategy, Defence Minister Richard Marles said on Thursday.
Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies regained value following a ceasefire between Israel and Iran, bouncing back after steep losses during the 12-day conflict.
Tesla’s new car sales in Europe plunged 27.9% in May, even as the region saw a major rise in demand for electric vehicles, data from the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) showed.
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