ISTANBUL: Turkey's lira nose-dived 15% on Tuesday in its second-worst day ever after President Tayyip Erdogan defended recent sharp rate cuts, and vowed to win his "economic war of independence" despite widespread criticism and pleas to reverse course.
The lira tumbled to as low as 13.45 to the dollar, plumbing record troughs for an 11th straight session.
It has lost 45% of its value this year, including a near 26% decline since the beginning of last week.