Turkish lira hits new record low

The Turkish lira hit a fresh record low against the U.S. dollar on January 11, trading at 30.005 to the greenback just before noon local time.

It marks the first time that the lira has broken 30 against the dollar, which was up 0.17% against the Turkish currency from the previous day’s session.

The lira has fallen some 37% against the U.S. benchmark over the past year, as monetary policymakers try to combat double-digit inflation by steadily raising interest rates.

The Turkish lira has lost more that 80% of its value against the dollar over the last five years, increasing import and foreign debt costs and dramatically weakening the purchasing power of ordinary Turkish people.