Forex held by Turkish locals rises to $159.9b in week to August 10

ANKARA

Foreign currency deposits held by local investors in Turkey rose to $159.9 billion in the week to August 10, from $158.6 billion a week earlier, central bank data showed on Thursday, despite calls by President Tayyip Erdogan to convert forex into lira.

Earlier this month, Erdogan called on Turks to convert their hard currency and gold into lira in order to support the ailing lira currency, which hit a record low against the US dollar this week and lost some 40 per cent of its value this year.