2023-10-10 03:24:30
ISTANBUL, Oct. 9, 2023 (Xinhua) — Turkish financial markets witnessed turmoil on Monday, with exchange rates fluctuating and the stock market falling, amid concern and caution over the ongoing conflict between Israel and Gaza, an analyst said.
The Turkish currency lost 0.43 percent of its value in morning trading against the US dollar, recording 27.7 Turkish liras per dollar at 11:00 am local time (0800 GMT).
At the opening of the Istanbul Stock Exchange, Turkey’s BAST 100 stock index fell to 8,300.69 points, a decrease of 1.94 percent compared to the previous close.
Murat Tufan, an analyst at Ecoturk, said that the markets are already very fragile in Turkey due to high inflation and the decline in the value of the lira, and the situation has become more sensitive, affected by the recent conflict between Israel and Gaza.
“The markets were taken by surprise. As a result, Turkish stock markets saw sales of more than 2 percent during the day, and the dollar rose,” Tufan told Xinhua.
According to Tufan, oil prices, “already high,” could rise by 5 to 10 percent as the conflict could drag on in the coming days and inject more caution into the financial market, putting more burden on Turkey.
He added, “This (high oil prices) will cause difficulties for global central banks and Turkey in particular,” noting that this will lead the US Federal Reserve to raise interest rates.
The analyst stated that for countries that use dollar reserves such as Turkey, especially with the rise in US interest rates, borrowing costs will increase further, and this will make Turkish stock markets more sensitive to inflation.
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