Erdogan orders inquiry into plunge in value of Turkish lira

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has ordered a probe into possible currency manipulation, following the collapse of the lira to record lows against the dollar this week, Turkey's Anadolu news agency reported on Saturday.

Erdogan had tasked the State Supervisory Council, a public auditing agency, to identify institutions that bought large amounts of foreign currency and to look for any signs of manipulation.

Turkey is facing its worst currency crisis since August 2018, when the value of the lira plummeted after a row with then US president Donald Trump. The Turkish lira has lost up to 45% of its value against the dollar this year, with about half of these losses happening in the last two weeks.

On Tuesday, the lira dropped by around 15 percent to reach almost 13 lira against the dollar, following Erdogan's pledges to stick with a policy of easing interest rates despite rampant inflation. In a speech on Tuesday, the president said Turkey was fighting an "economic war of independence" and would not yield to external pressures.

Erdogan has built his popularity in Turkey on a reputation of forging strong economic growth and improving the income of families across the country but the ongoing currency crisis could potentially diminish his chances in the 2023 presidential elections.