Turkey’s lira hit its weakest in a month on Tuesday, as investors worried about Ankara’s planned incursion in northern Syria and President Donald Trump warned he could destroy the Turkish economy if it takes the operation too far.
The lira, which lost more than 2% of its value on Monday to close at 5.8370, weakened slightly further to 5.8415 against the U.S. currency by 0416 GMT, its weakest since Sept. 2.
Trump said he would “totally destroy and obliterate” Turkey’s economy if it took action in Syria that he considered “off limits” after his decision on Sunday to pull 50 American special forces troops from northeastern Syria.
The U.S. withdrawal will leave Kurdish-led forces in Syria that have long allied with Washington vulnerable to a planned incursion by the Turkish military, which brands them terrorists.
The Turkish defence ministry said in a Twitter post late on Monday that all preparations for a possible military operation into northeastern Syria had been completed.
In a currency crisis last year, the lira lost nearly 30% of its value against the dollar, partially over concerns about worsening ties between Ankara and Washington.