A woman looks at an electronic screen showing the exchange rates at a currency exchange office in Istanbul, Turkey, May 7, 2020. The Turkish currency dropped to a record low against the U.S. dollar on Thursday amid economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. At 1 p.m. (1000 GMT), 1 dollar was traded at 7.26 Turkish liras, which lost 18 percent of value against the U.S. currency since the beginning of this year. (Photo by Osman Orsal/Xinhua)
ISTANBUL, May 7 (Xinhua) -- The Turkish currency dropped to a record low against the U.S. dollar on Thursday amid economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
At 1 p.m. (1000 GMT), 1 dollar was traded at 7.26 Turkish liras, which lost 18 percent of value against the U.S. currency since the beginning of this year.
According to Baris Urkun, Ahlatci Investment research manager, there has been more than 3 percent depreciation in the lira since the beginning of May alone.
The lira has become the worst-performing currency among the developing countries after the Brazilian Real, Urkun was quoted as saying by Bloomberg HT, Turkey's online economy platform.
Meanwhile, the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency said at a new regulation published in the Official Gazette on Thursday that it would penalize banks involved in manipulating and misleading transactions on investment instruments such as exchange rate, according to press reports.
The regulation contains comprehensive measures against those who express misleading statements on the fluctuation of the exchange rate on social media and other media platforms, the daily said.
The Turkish government had taken strong measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus, including shutting shopping malls, barbershops, restaurants, bars, and cafes.
Struggling against economic difficulties, many companies have reduced the number of personnel, while numerous day laborers lost wages due to lockdowns and travel restrictions. Enditem
