There is no need for markets to worry about the recent volatility of the Turkish lira, Turkish Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci said on Saturday.
Speaking in a press conference after a forum on free economic zones, Zeybekci said that despite increasing fluctuations in the value of Turkish lira against the U.S. dollar, the course of the exchange rate should be determined by markets rather than economic authorities' interventions.
The Turkish lira dropped to 2.2983 against the U.S. dollar on Friday, its lowest in two months, after rising U.S. retail sales data and declining requests for unemployment benefits.
There are concerns for the Turkish economy regarding possible problems that might arise from Turkey's short-term external debt stock in the event of sharp rate fluctuations.
"As I said before when the rate reached 2.39, it would be better not to intervene. The rate should be set freely and be determined in the markets," Zeybekci said.
He stressed that the Turkish economy is strong enough to cope up with these problems.
Zeybekci said that paying no attention to this topic would render possible speculations in the market ineffective.