Turkey restarted foreign-currency swap transactions with local banks for the first time in a year, after a drawdown in reserves fueled by a broad selloff across emerging markets amid the war in the Middle East. The Turkish central bank on Tuesday opened three separate dollar-for-lira swap auctions totaling $10 billion, with maturities ranging from one week to one month, under which it will borrow ...
Turkey restarted foreign-currency swap transactions with local banks for the first time in a year, after a drawdown in reserves fueled by a broad selloff across emerging markets amid the war in the Middle East. The Turkish central bank on Tuesday opened three separate dollar-for-lira swap auctions totaling $10 billion, with maturities ranging from one week to one month, under which it will borrow dollars from lenders in exchange for liras. Governor Fatih Karahan said the resumption of swap deals shows “there’s no issue with regards to FX liquidity in the system and that the exchange rate regime we’re pursuing is functioning in a healthy manner,” according to state-run Anadolu news agency. The announcement came after the monetary authority drained around 2 trillion liras ($45 billion) from the interbank market in March, a step aimed at maintaining a tight monetary stance. The US and Israel started a war on Iran on Feb. 28, triggering outflows from riskier assets and declines in nearly all emerging-market currencies tracked by Bloomberg. The lira has emerged relatively unscathed, dropping 1.2% since the war began, compared with declines of 6.8% in South Africa’s rand and 6.5% in Chile’s peso. But scarce lira liquidity drew banks’ ire, with some executives calling for a resumption of currency swap transactions to ease the squeeze. Earlier in March, the central bank tightened monetary conditions by providing funding via its costlier overnight lending rate of 40% instead of lending via one-week repo auctions at its policy rate of 37%. FX swaps with local lenders were criticized in the past for providing a temporary boost to foreign reserves without actual foreign inflows. Turkey’s gross foreign exchange reserves fell by more than $12 billion during the three-week period through March 20, according to the most recent official data compiled by Bloomberg. Since the start of the war, the Turkish central bank has spent more than $30 billion from its reserves, including throug...
Chinese and Hong Kong shares suffered their worst month since January 2024 as the war on Iran upended global oil markets and spurred economic concerns. The mainland CSI 300 lost 5.5 per cent in March, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dropped 6.9 per cent. Both indexes also fell for the second quarter in a row. The broader MSCI Asia-Pacific Index plunged 12 per cent in US dollar terms in March, it...
Chinese and Hong Kong shares suffered their worst month since January 2024 as the war on Iran upended global oil markets and spurred economic concerns. The mainland CSI 300 lost 5.5 per cent in March, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dropped 6.9 per cent. Both indexes also fell for the second quarter in a row. The broader MSCI Asia-Pacific Index plunged 12 per cent in US dollar terms in March, its biggest monthly loss in more than three years. Stocks have fallen around the world since Iran shut...
(RTTNews) - European stocks traded higher on Tuesday after reports emerged that the Trump administration is willing to end U.S. military operations against Iran even if the Strait of Hormuz remains largely closed.
(RTTNews) - European stocks traded higher on Tuesday after reports emerged that the Trump administration is willing to end U.S. military operations against Iran even if the Strait of Hormuz remains largely closed.
China is ramping up efforts to deeply integrate artificial intelligence (AI) into its shipping industry by 2027, targeting breakthroughs in core technologies to build a smart maritime system as global competition intensifies. A new action plan by the Ministry of Transport and three other government bodies outlined a road map that includes creating at least three comprehensive pilot zones, launchin...
China is ramping up efforts to deeply integrate artificial intelligence (AI) into its shipping industry by 2027, targeting breakthroughs in core technologies to build a smart maritime system as global competition intensifies. A new action plan by the Ministry of Transport and three other government bodies outlined a road map that includes creating at least three comprehensive pilot zones, launching more than five trial routes, developing over 10 replicable smart-shipping use cases and deploying...