Turkish contagion sends rand back over R15/$

Reuters reported the Turkish lira pulled back from a record low of 7.24 during Monday night to trade at about 6.80 after Finance Minister Berat Albayrak said Turkey would start implementing an economic action plan on Monday morning.

Other emerging market currencies to suffer from the lira’s plunge included the Indian rupee which slid to an all-time trough, while the Indonesian rupiah hit its lowest in almost three years, prompting intervention from the country’s central bank.

The emerging market currency rout rattled Asian markets, with Tokyo’s Topix down more than 2%.

In Hong Kong, Naspers’s main investment Tencent was down 2.3% to HK$36.,40, indicant the JSE is likely to join the global rout.

In Sydney, BHP was down 1.25% to A$33.30, contributing to a 0.6% drop in the ASX 200 index.

Source: businesslive.co.za