ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — The Turkish currency has plummeted against the U.S. dollar after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan fired the central bank governor over the weekend for hiking interest rates. The lira was trading nearly 10% down from Friday’s close. Erdogan unexpectedly fired Naci Agbal with a decree and replaced him with a banking professor who has argued for lower interest rates. The move raised concerns about a possible return to the unconventional monetary policy favored by the Turkish president as the country struggles with persistent inflation and currency instability. Agbal had hiked the benchmark rate to 19% during his time in office to try to rebuild the central bank’s credibility after years of unorthodox policies.
