The U.S. dollar responded immediately to the attempted military overthrow of the Turkish government on Friday by gaining as much as 5.5 percent against the Turkish lira and then settling at 4.72 percent by the end of the trading day.
Prime Minister Binali Yildirim told the media that a group within Turkey’s military had attempted a coup but that security forces had done what is necessary to return order to the country, bring the Turkish lira down against the euro, trading as much as 5 percent lower in afternoon trade.
Euro, Yen Down
The euro hit a low of $1.1021 against the dollar.
The dollar rose to 106.30 yen, its strongest level since June 24, in Asian trade. It had been up at a three-week high against the yen and was on course for its biggest weekly gain against the Japanese currency in 17 years after strong U.S. and Chinese economic data squashed the appetite for the yen as a safe haven.
The yen also fell against other major currencies, slipping 0.15 percent against the euro and 0.76 percent against the British pound.
Sterling retreated from a two-week high of $1.3481 against the dollar, after the Bank of England’s chief economist, Andrew Haldane, said the Bank needed to act “promptly as well as muscularly” to stimulate the economy. The pound had risen after the BOE kept rates on hold on Thursday, surprising investors who had expected a rate cut following Britain’s vote to leave the European Union. It was still on pace for its largest weekly increase since October 2009.
