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Lira Tumbles After Central Bank Defies Rate-Hike Bets
The lira sank to a record low, trading near 8 per dollar, after Turkey’s central bank unexpectedly held back from raising its key interest rate. Sovereign bonds and bank stocks also fell. The currency depreciated as much as 2.1%, about three times more than any other emerging-market counterpart, to trade at an unprecedented 7.9797 per dollar. It was at 7.9605 as of 2:41 p.m. in Istanbul. The lira gained about 0.4% ahead of the meeting on expectations that the Turkish central bank would lift the one-week repo rate for a second time in a row. The benchmark Borsa Istanbul Banks Index fell as much as 3.7%. Yield ... (full story)