The Turkish currency hit an all-time low against the U.S. dollar on Thursday, trading at over 30 liras per dollar.
One dollar was traded at 30.01 liras at 10:25 a.m. local time (0725 GMT). The Turkish currency has lost over 37 percent of its value since last year and depreciated by 1.6 percent against the dollar in the first 10 days of 2024.
Shortly after the psychological threshold was crossed, many Turkish citizens took to social media platform X to express their disappointment.
“Let’s not say that the dollar has become 30 liras, but let’s say that one lira has become 0.033 dollars. Maybe then, people will understand how worthless our money is,” wrote Eray Yuce.
Another user called “d.kadir” said “I have to work for months to buy a phone, a computer. I have to work for years, if I want to have an average car.”
Murat Sagman, an economist and portfolio manager, recalled that it was only in 2013 that a dollar was worth 2 liras.
Oguz Ozturk, an employee of a tourism agency in Istanbul, told Xinhua that his salary is constantly losing value. “Seeing a place abroad is now a big luxury for me,” he said.
Meanwhile, economist Duran Bulbul said the dollar exchange rate may move towards 40 liras soon, under such challenges as high inflation.
“The greenback will first smash the 30-lira threshold, then evolve towards 35 and then 40 liras,” Bulbul was quoted by Milli Daily as saying.
In December, the Turkish central bank increased its policy rate by 250 basis points to 42.5 percent to curb the lira’s devaluation and tame the high inflation, which climbed to 64.77 percent in 2023. ■
