• USD/TRY pushes higher and advances to the 9.6500 region.
• The lira extends the rout after the CBRT’s interest rate cut.
• The Turkish currency already loses nearly 15% since September.

The selling pressure around the Turkish lira picks up renewed pace and pushes USD/TRY to another all-time high past 9.6500 on Friday.

USD/TRY higher as investors flee the lira

USD/TRY advances for the second session in a row and trades just below the earlier fresh record high above 9.6500 as market participants intensify the exodus from the Turkish currency.

Indeed, there seems to be no respite for the downside pressure hitting the lira after the Turkish central bank (CBRT) caught everybody off guard and cut the One-Week Repo Rate by a shocking two full percentage points at its meeting on Thursday.

The lira sheds already nearly 14% since September and around 25% since President Erdogan removed former CBRT Governor N.Agbal in mid-March, soon after he hiked rates to 19.00%. In the bond market, yields of the Turkish reference 10y bond climb to levels last seen in May 2019 past 19.50% so far.

USD/TRY key levels

So far, the pair is up 0.98% at 9.5953 and a drop below 9.2475 (10-day SMA) would aim for 9.0599 (20-day SMA) and finally 8.8317 (monthly low Oct.4). On the other hand, the next up barrier lines up at 9.6583 (all-time high Oct.22) followed by 10.0000 and then… the moon?