Turkey’s lira sinks to new low, prompting bank to intervene

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey’s currency has crashed to an new all-time low against the dollar a day after the Central Bank again lowered a key interest rate despite surging consumer prices. The lira’s fall prompted the Central Bank to intervene by selling off more foreign currency. It was the bank’s fifth intervention in recent weeks to prop up the lira. The lira hit a new record low of 17.14 against the dollar before the bank intervened and the currency recovered some of its losses pn Friday. Still, it was around 5% weaker against the U.S. currency compared to Thursday’s close. The beleaguered lira has lost 55% of its value against the dollar since the start of the year.