USD/TRY challenges daily lows near 13.30 post-CBRT

• USD/TRY tests fresh weekly lows near 13.30 on Thursday.
• The CBRT left the One-Week Repo Rate unchanged at 14.00%.
• The CBRT said available policy tools prioritize the Turkish lira.

The Turkish lira is gathering further traction and now dragging USD/TRY to weekly lows in the 13.2500/2000 band on Thursday.

USD/TRY weaker on steady CBRT

USD/TRY is now seen dropping for the second session in a row as the lira remains bid vs. the greenback following the decision by the Turkish central bank (CBRT) to leave the One-Week Repo Rate unchanged at 14.00% at its meeting on Thursday. It was the first time the central bank kept the policy rate on hold since August.

The CBRT statement showed the central bank “blames” the “unhealthy price formations” in the FX space, supply disruptions and demand developments for the ongoing (very) high inflation.

In addition, the CBRT said that it will prioritize the lira when it comes to the policy framework and reiterated the willingness to achieve the medium-term inflation target of 5% YoY.

USD/TRY key levels

So far, the pair is retreating 0.01% at 13.3730 and a drop below 12.7523 (2022 low Jan.3) would pave the way for a test of 12.6123 (55-day SMA) and finally 10.2027 (monthly low Dec.23). On the other hand, the next up barrier lines up at 13.9319 (2022 high Jan.10) followed by 18.2582 (all-time high Dec.20) and then 19.0000 (round level).