President Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey on Friday again blamed the U. S. for what he called a “heinous economic attack” that has sent the lira tumbling some 40 per cent this year. At a speech to officials from his AK Party in Ankara, Erdogan also said Turkey would see the result of the central bank’s independence after its substantial rate increase a day earlier.
On Thursday the central bank lifted its benchmark rate by 6.25 percentage points. NAN reports that on Aug. 11, Erdogan accused the U.S. of waging economic “war” on Turkey amid a downturn that has seen the currency plunge. The warning came after his U.S. counterpart, Donald Trump, escalated a feud by doubling tariffs on metals imports.
