Deteriorating ties between Ankara and Washington already took a toll on the Turkish lira this week, after the announcement that the Trump administration would slap sanctions on the country.
The currency has been sliding for much of the year and hit a new all-time low on Thursday at more than 5 lira per dollar. On the year, the unit has fallen more than 30%.
The lira still has room to fall, and the release of inflation data on Friday could trigger another drop, Win Thin, global head of emerging market currency strategy at Brown Brothers Harriman, said as reported by Market Watch.
“July CPI will be reported tomorrow and is expected to accelerate to 16.3% year on year,” the strategist said. “If so, it would move further above the 3-7% target range.
“If the central bank remains behind the curve, we could easily see inflation approach 20% in the coming months,” Thin said. “Officials pledged to hike rates further if inflation rises and yet the [Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey] delivered a dovish surprise last month.”
The lira’s collapse threatens Turkish companies’ ability to repay their US$300 billion pile of foreign-currency-denominated debt.