St Petersburg/Tokyo — International Monetary Fund (IMF) MD Christine Lagarde urged the Turkish government to preserve the independence of its central bank after confusion sent the lira sliding. Mixed signals about whether the central bank is free of political interference created a sense of uncertainty among investors, putting the currency under pressure, Lagarde said in an interview with Bloomberg Television in St Petersburg. "In terms of monetary policy, it’s always better for all political leaders to let the central bank governors do the job that they have to do, and to preserve and secure their independence," she said. Turkey was engulfed by a currency crisis earlier in May as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he would exert greater power over central banking if he won re-election. He subsequently pledged allegiance to global principles on monetary policy and the central bank boosted interest rates. "Some of the comments made alerted the international community and particularl...
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