Turkish lira down as US halts fighter parts delivery, threatens sanctions
Domestically, the elections are also not going Erdoğan’s way as he objects to opposition victories in key cities
Istanbul — The lira dropped nearly 3% on Tuesday after the US halted delivery of equipment related to a Turkish order of F-35 fighter planes, warning Ankara’s insistence on buying Russian defence systems risked triggering sanctions. At 4.34pm GMT, the lira stood at 5.6590 against the dollar, having earlier fallen 3.3% to as low as 5.6800. The Turkish currency lost nearly 30% against the dollar last year in a sell-off sparked by concerns over the independence of the central bank and exacerbated by worsening ties with Washington. “Factors behind last year’s currency crisis have reared their heads again,” said Jason Tuvey, senior emerging markets economist at Capital Economics. Washington and other Nato allies are concerned that radar on the Russian S-400 missile system that Turkey is also buying will learn how to track the F-35, making it less able to evade Russian weapons. A senior US official said the purchase of the S-400 risked triggering sanctions. Acting US defence secretary Pat...
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