Turkey's national currency fell to an unprecedented low of 9.85 lira against the dollar on Monday, after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said at the weekend that he had ordered the expulsion of ambassadors from the United States and nine other Western countries, Reuters reported.
And the Turkish currency recorded in the latest trading of 9.7150 liras against the dollar, and it was in a range between 9.7225 and 9.7600 at 04:02 GMT.
Bankers attributed the drop in early trading to Erdogan's comments on Saturday, while the German news agency said that the country's recent diplomatic dispute prompted traders to sell the currency.
The lira - which has fallen 24% since the beginning of the year - ended Friday at 9.5950 liras to the dollar.
Last Saturday, Erdogan announced that he had instructed the Foreign Minister to declare the ten ambassadors persona non grata as soon as possible, commenting on their demand for the release of businessman Osman Kavala, accused of involvement in the failed coup attempt in 2016, according to Anatolia Agency.
Yesterday, President Erdoğan said that although those are doing their best to prevent Turkey from going beyond the political and economic boundaries they have drawn, "we are close to achieving our goal for 2023, which is to make Turkey great and strong."
He explained that Turkey, of course, faces challenges in the international arena and problems in domestic politics and the economy, but the successive AKP governments were able, during 19 years of rule, to ensure the country's growth by overcoming all obstacles.
President Erdoğan stressed that his government wants to turn this global crisis into a historic opportunity for the country by adopting an economic policy that encourages investments, increases production, boosts employment, and encourages exports.
"We believe that the way to save Turkey from the grip of interest, exchange rate and inflation is to ensure that it rises on these four legs," he said, adding, "The problems we are going through are temporary, but be fully confident that the coming gains will continue for generations and generations."