ISTANBUL, Dec 17 (Reuters) – The Turkish Central Bank said on Friday it was directly intervening in the forex market, selling dollars, due to “unhealthy price formations” in exchange rates, after the lira touched a record low of 17.0705 against the U.S. currency.
It was the fifth time the central bank has announced intervention in the currency market this month, selling dollars to slow the lira slide and eating into its already depleted foreign reserves.
After the move, the lira trimmed its losses as far as 16.55 by 1055 GMT. It has lost 55% of its value against the U.S. currency so far this year.
Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com
Register
Reporting by Nevzat Devranoglu, Ebru Tuncay and Ezgi Erkoyun
Writing by Daren Butler
Editing by Ezgi Erkoyun
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Read More: Turkish cenbank intervenes in FX market as lira hits 17/dollar