The Turkish lira weakened against the dollar on Thursday, extending losses on concern about political tensions with the United States over Ankara's procurement of Russian missile defence systems. The lira weakened as far as 5.4559 against the dollar and stood at 5.4430 at 1020 GMT. It had briefly firmed on Wednesday after the central bank kept interest rates unchanged and said it would keep monetary policy tight.
The lira lost nearly 30 percent of its value against the dollar last year amid a currency crisis over concerns about the central bank's independence and a crisis with the United States over the fate of US pastor Andrew Brunson, who was jailed in Turkey on terror charges and later released.
Turkey and the United States have been at loggerheads over Ankara's decision to purchase Russian S-400 systems, which are incompatible with Nato systems. Washington has warned that the move could jeopardise other defence industry deals between the Nato allies or even lead to US sanctions.
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