Turkish lira under new pressure despite bank moves

Turkey's lira on Tuesday came under new pressure against the dollar despite a series of measures by the central bank aimed at shoring up confidence in the embattled currency.
The lira has hit all-time lows in value against the dollar over the last month as investors took fright at repeated personal attacks by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on central bank chief Erdem Basci.
Erdogan is to meet with Basci in Ankara on Wednesday to smooth relations that will be closely watched by the markets.
The lira on Tuesday lost value to trade at 2.635 to the dollar, near its record low of 2.647 reached on Friday. The Istanbul stock exchange meanwhile lost 3.31 percent to reach its lowest points value for four months.
The bank Tuesday adjusted its demands on forex requirements and reserve liquidity, the latest in a series of moves to support the currency.
On Monday, the bank had cut the rates it pays for deposits by commercial banks in both dollars and euros, a move that had briefly halted the slide in the value of the lira.
Erdogan has been pressuring the nominally independent Turkish central bank to cut interest rates to stimulate flagging growth ahead of June legislative elections.
After a visit to New York to convince US investors about the health of Turkey's economy, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu held an emergency meeting this weekend with the central bank governor and ministers in charge of the economy, Turkish media reported.
Davutoglu on Tuesday also summoned Basci and other key economic policymakers for a meeting but denied there was any crisis in relations between the central bank and the government.
Erdogan has launched a series of lacerating attacks on Basci, accusing him of acting on behalf of Turkey's enemies.
Markets have been spooked by rumours that Basci and the Turkish government's economic pointman Ali Babacan could resign but the pair so far have stayed in their posts.