Turks hammered by currency crisis

Turks hammered by currency crisis

ISTANBUL: Turkish pensioner Abdullah Cici and his wife Hatice travelled across Istanbul to hunt for bargains at a popular bazaar. They were disappointed. “We need a lot of things but we cannot buy them. There’s salami, sujuk (sausage) over there. I am a human. I also crave for them but I cannot afford,” he said. “Our salaries are now worth peanuts.” The price swings at the market offer a snapshot of the toll dealt on consumers by soaring inflation and a currency that has lost almost a third of its value against the dollar this year.

The lira sank to a record low on Thursday, 11.30 against the dollar, after the central bank apparently caved again to pressure from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to cut interest rates for a third straight month. Analysts blame most of Turkey’s problems on unconventional economic policies that focus on economic growth at the price of high inflation and a depreciating currency.

Annual inflation has reached 20 percent, quadruple the government target. The Cicis have had to adapt. “We buy in small amounts, half a kilogram instead of one,” said Hatice Cici, holding a small bag of produce worth a total 120 lira ($10.78, 9.5 euros). One