“This is what we will move forward”: Lira – President Erdogan calls on Turks to save politics

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called on the Turks to maintain their savings in the Turkish lira. “I want all my citizens to keep their savings in our own currency and to do all their business in our own currency,” he said in a speech in Istanbul.

“We must not forget: unless we use our own money as a benchmark, we will be doomed,” Erdogan said. “Turkish lira, our money, we will use to advance. Not with this or that foreign currency.”

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According to official data, citizens of Turkey hold half of their savings in foreign currency and gold. The background to this is the loss of confidence in the domestic lira, which has lost massively this year. It has lost 40 percent, turning into its blackest year in 20 years.

Inflation in Turkey rose to more than 21 percent in November. Experts also see the Turkish central bank’s unusual monetary policy as the cause of the currency crisis and high inflation. At Erdogan’s insistence, the latter repeatedly cut its key interest rate, although economists believe the increase is the right answer. (Reuters)