Turkey: According to a presidential decree published in the Turkish official gazette on Thursday, Turkey's Finance and Treasury Minister Lutfi Elvan has resigned amid a severe drop in the Turkish currency. According to the official gazette, Elvan requested to be released of his responsibilities.
Nureddin Nebati has been nominated as the next finance minister by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. According to sources, Erdogan has indirectly criticised Elvan for rejecting the lower interest rate policy on multiple occasions.
Nebati was Elvan's deputy, who has served as finance minister since November 2020. Despite the Turkish lira's depreciation and rising inflation, the Turkish president insists on low interest rates. "We marched together in this struggle, no offence to our friends; I can't be with people who support excessive interest rates," Erdogan remarked on November 17.
The Turkish Central Bank intervened in foreign exchange markets earlier on Wednesday as the lira hit a fresh record low versus the US dollar. After Erdogan stated that he thinks interest rates will continue to fall until Turkey's next election in 2023, the lira plummeted just below 14 against the dollar.
The Turkish currency has lost more than 40 percent of its value versus the dollar this year, while annual inflation reached nearly 20 percent in October.
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