Turkey president blames West for currency rate fluctuations

ANKARA, March 28 (Xinhua) -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday that the recent fluctuations of Turkish lira were attempts against Turkey by the West, particularly the United States.

Speaking in a meeting with young voters in Ankara, Erdogan said that some banks were playing a game on lira ahead of Sunday's local election, adding that Turkey needed to "discipline all speculators in the market."

Erdogan also expressed confidence in Turkey's economic situation, saying that all the pressures imposed on Turkey through currency fluctuations yielded no result.

Turkey has launched a probe against JP Morgan and some banks for manipulative acts following a sharp plunge of the lira on March 22.

The Turkish currency against U.S. dollar stood around 5.53 by 9 p.m. local time (1800 GMT) on Thursday, while the exchange rate saw over 5.70 during the past few days.

On Wednesday, the main BIST 100 index of Turkish largest listed companies closed with nearly 6 percent lower, as troubles intensified in the swaps market to keep the Turkish currency strong.

In August 2018, lira hit a record low against dollar when Washington imposed sanctions on Turkey by doubling steel and aluminum tariffs over the detention of a U.S. pastor.