lira

Persistently high inflation under the policies of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is decimating the Turkish tourism industry, as both foreign visitors and locals decide to save money by nipping over to Greece for holiday getaways.

Turkey’s currency, the lira, sank to a record low on Monday as markets reacted to the re-election of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday invoked Islamic law to restate his promise to bring inflation under control without raising interest rates, even as Turkey’s economy teetered on the brink of a meltdown and its currency fell to an all-time low against the euro.

The Turkish lira fell 1.6  percent to a record low against the dollar on Monday, causing fresh anxiety for nervous investors. The Turkish currency hit a few record lows last week, but plunged again to an all-time rock bottom after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared his intention to expel the ambassadors of the United States, France, Germany, and seven other Western nations.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan told members of his Islamic Justice and Development Party (AKP) on Friday that the United States had attempted an “economic assassination” on Turkey, one that his administration has largely “stopped.”

National Security Adviser John Bolton said on Tuesday that the government of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan “made a big mistake in not releasing Pastor Brunson.”

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan lashed out against the United States on Tuesday and called for a boycott on American electronics to retaliate against the Trump administration’s tariffs on steel. It was not clear from Erdogan’s remarks if he plans to implement a government ban on U.S. electronics imports or merely wants Turks to refrain from buying them.

Turkey’s currency, the lira, plunged to a record low on Wednesday and continued to fall Thursday following the imposition of sanctions by the United States on two Turkish officials for their roles in the detention of American pastor Andrew Brunson.