ISTANBUL: The Turkish lira rallied 6 percent to below 6.0 against the dollar on Wednesday, boosted by a banking watchdog move on swap transactions and expectations of improved Turkey-EU ties after Turkey released two Greek soldiers detained since March.

The lira has lost nearly 40 percent this year and crashed to an all-time low of 7.24 to the dollar on Monday, hit by worries over Erdogan’s calls for lower borrowing costs and by worsening ties with the United States, a major NATO ally.

At 0731 GMT, the lira stood at 6.0600 against the dollar.